Temperature Dips Below 4°C In Delhi, Yellow Alert Issued. Severe Cold Wave Conditions In Northwest India: IMD

It seems there is no respite in the offing soon for national capital residents as the minimum temperature is expected to dip below 4 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Homeless people warm themselves with a bonfire during a cold winter evening in New Delhi, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Delhi residents woke up to a cold and chilly Monday morning as mercury dipped below 4 degrees Celsius. A minimum temperature of 3.1 degrees Celsius was recorded at the Lodhi Road observatory on Monday, according to Regional Meteorological Centre, Delhi.

It seems there is no respite in the offing soon for national capital residents as the minimum temperature is expected to dip below 4 degrees Celsius on Monday as cold wave conditions will continue to prevail, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The weather department on Sunday predicted that cold wave to severe cold wave conditions is very likely to continue in northwest India over the next three days and abate thereafter.

The weather department had issued a yellow alert for Delhi for Monday along with Uttarakhand from December 18-21. Several regions in Uttarakhand including Ranichauri, Mukteshwar, Mussoorie, Pithoragarh, and New Tehri went on to record sub-zero or near-freezing temperatures.

Day temperatures in Delhi on Monday are likely to be around 19 degrees celsius since wind speeds are falling, according to the forecast.

Churu has reported the lowest minimum temperature of -2.6°C followed by Sikar (-2.5°C) and Amritsar (-0.5°C). There is also a possibility of drizzling on December 24 or 25, RK Jenamani, Director General of Meteorology at IMD said.

Dense fog is predicted in a few regions of Uttarakhand over the next two days and in Punjab and Haryana on December 23 and 24, it said, according to news agency PTI.

Cold Wave to Severe Cold Wave conditions are very likely to continue to prevail over a few pockets of Punjab, Haryana & Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh till Tuesday, according to IMD.

Cold and dry northwesterly winds, gusting up to 15 kmph, are likely to continue over the plains of northwest India till Tuesday, "enhancing the adverse impact of cold wave and cold day conditions", the weather office said.

What does a yellow alert mean?

The IMD issues color-coded warnings projecting the weather at a particular place. These warnings are based on their analysis of the weather forecast data for a particular region over a few days. 

In the above case, a yellow weather warning hints at severe bad weather. It also means that the weather is likely to change for the worse, causing disruption in day-to-day activities and alerting people in the area to remain vigilant.

Such alerts have been witnessed in the past and issued during extreme weather conditions such as floods or heavy rainfall.

A cold day is determined if the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees below normal whereas a cold wave is declared if the day’s low is either 4.5 degrees below normal, or is below 4 degrees.