Delhi encountered its most frigid day of the current winter season on Tuesday, marked by a maximum temperature of 13.4°C, registering a significant deviation of six degrees below the normal range and reaching a low last recorded two years ago, as per the Meteorological Office. Simultaneously, the minimum temperature in the national capital dipped to 5.3 degrees Celsius on the same day.
The minimum temperature on Wednesday morning stood at 7.1°C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). A "yellow alert" has been issued for the national capital on Wednesday, projecting a maximum temperature of around 16°C. An impact from the western disturbance influenced several regions in the northern plains, leading to isolated drizzle in parts of the city. The air quality in Delhi remained categorized as "very poor," with a reading of 343.
In the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh, the cold weather intensified, resulting in minimum temperatures dropping to 1.1 and 1.0°C in Kanpur and Agra, respectively.
Night shelters in Delhi, designed to provide refuge for homeless individuals, witnessed full occupancy due to the harsh weather conditions. Equipped with blankets, beds, hot water, and food, these shelters aimed to accommodate those in need. A caretaker from a night shelter in Delhi's Anand Vihar reported that a rescue team had been deployed to bring individuals residing on roadsides to these facilities.
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The latest bulletin from the IMD indicated the likelihood of dense fog conditions prevailing for a few hours in the morning across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh from January 10 to 14. Similar conditions are expected in Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, north Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and other parts of East and Northeast India on Wednesday.
The Met Office further predicted that cold wave conditions would persist in parts of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Uttarakhand is anticipated to experience ground frost conditions from January 10 to 12, with no significant temperature changes expected in the next 48 hours.
Turning attention to Tamil Nadu and adjacent regions, the Met Office disclosed, "A cyclonic circulation lies over Southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian and a trough runs from this cyclonic circulation to south Gujarat at lower tropospheric levels." In light of these systems, light to moderate rainfall is projected in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, coastal Karnataka, and the Lakshadweep islands over the next three days, as per the IMD.
