Dense fog envelops Gurugram, slight relief from biting cold likely for 3-4 days

GURUGRAM: Daytime chill relented by a few degrees due to an hours-long appearance by the sun, which brought up the city's maximum temperature even though the night before that remained under the effect of a cold wave.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gurugram slipped out of 'cold day' conditions as mercury rose to a high of 17.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, nearly four notches over 13.6 degrees Celsius the day before. This, officials said, was largely the effect of a few hours of sunlight over NCR.
For the last five days, the city has been under the spell of cold and severe cold day conditions.
At 3.6 degrees Celsius, Sunday's minimum temperature rose slightly from the low of 2.5 degrees Celsius recorded the previous day, but was still categorised as a cold wave.
The Met department declares a 'cold day' when minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature's departure from normal is between 4.5 degrees and 6.4 degrees Celsius. A 'severe cold day' is recorded when the maximum temperature's departure from normal is more than 6.5 degrees Celsius. A 'cold wave' is declared when minimum temperature is less than 4 degrees Celsius.
On Sunday, Gurugram's residents again woke up to dense fog, which reduced visibility to just 50 metres in the early hours though it improved to 100 metres by 10am.
"A western disturbance (a weather system that originates in the Mediterranean) is prevailing over the western Himalayan region and another weather system is likely to impact the northern region from Tuesday night. Temperatures are likely to rise as wind direction changes due to the western disturbance. Some relief from cold is likely to continue till January 13. Minimum temperatures may range between 7-9 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature will be around 18-19 degrees Celsius," said Manmohan Singh, director, IMD Chandigarh.
For Monday, IMD has predicted moderate to dense fog in the morning hours and clear skies later in the day. The minimum temperature is expected to hover around 6 degrees Celsius, and the minimum, 18 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Delhi suffered one of its worst spells of dense fog this season on Sunday. Fog engulfed Delhi for around 15.5 hours and of these while the duration of dense fog (when visibility dips to below 200 metres) was nine hours. Visibility at IGI Airport was 50m from 2.30am to 10am, improving to 100m from 10am to 11.30am.
Fog lifted completely at IGIA only around 1pm. The visibility at Safdarjung was 200 metres on Sunday morning. Safdarjung recorded 1.9 degrees C on Sunday, five notches below normal, making it the coldest morning in the past two years.