Severe Cold Wave Expected In North India Next Week, Minimum Temp Likely To Drop To Minus 4 Degrees

According to weather experts, parts of North India would experience a severe chill between January 14 and 19, which is likely to be at its peak from January 16 to 18.

Dense fog engulfs parts of Moradabad lowering visibility in many areas. ( Image Source :ANI )

New Delhi: After some relief from the cold wave on Wednesday, parts of Uttar Pradesh were engulfed in a thick layer of fog on Thursday. It is likely that several parts of North India may experience a drop in temperature to a minimum of -4 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius in the plains.

According to weather experts, a severe chill would be experienced between January 14 and 19 and is likely to be at its peak from January 16 to 18.

As per IMD, Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad which was covered in a shroud of fog on Thursday morning may experience "fog/mist in the morning and partly cloudy sky later" today with the minimum temperature being 10 degrees Celsius.

Uttar Pradesh | Dense fog engulfs parts of Moradabad lowering visibility in many areas.

As per IMD, Moradabad to experience 'Fog/mist in the morning and partly cloudy sky later' today with the minimum temperature being 10 degrees Celsius. pic.twitter.com/TtAqVDQlwP

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 12, 2023

 

The minimum temperature is likely to hover between 0 to 4 degrees Celsius this week in Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Northern Madhya Pradesh.

Cloudy weather and light rain are predicted over the national capital for the next two days under the influence of a strong western disturbance affecting northwest India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

A dense cover of fog lowered visibility to just 50 metres in Delhi in the morning, disrupting the movement of vehicles and trains.

"A layer of dense to very dense fog extended from Punjab to Bihar across Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the morning," an IMD official said.

The Palam observatory near the Indira Gandhi International Airport recorded a visibility level of 50 metres.

Ninety-five trains were delayed due to the foggy weather, a railways spokesperson said.

According to the Meteorological Department, on Wednesday, Haryana's Narnaul reeled under severe chill, recording a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius. Biting cold conditions prevailed in Sirsa too, which recorded a minimum temperature of 6.4 degrees Celsius.

Bhiwani recorded a low of 4.7 degrees Celsius, Rohtak 7.8 degrees Celsius, while Ambala's minimum temperature settled at 8.5 degrees Celsius.

Punjab's Bathinda recorded a low of 4 degrees Celsius, while Moga and Muktsar also reeled under a biting chill with a minimum of 5.7  and 6.2 degrees Celsius respectively.

Amritsar recorded a low of 8.6 degrees Celsius, Pathankot 8.4 degrees Celsius while Faridkot recorded a low of 7.4 degrees Celsius.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 9.1 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir would have no respite from the cold spell with the mercury predicted to drop to a minimum of -6 degrees Celsius.

 

"Don't know how to put this up but upcoming spell of #Coldwave in #India look really extreme during 14-19th January 2023 with peak on 16-18th, Never seen temperature ensemble going this low in a prediction model so far in my career. Freezing -4°c to -2°c in plains, Wow!" the weather expert tweeted along with a graphical representation of how the cold wave will play out in the northern plains over the week.

 

While there has been a significant improvement in North India in terms of fog and chill due to the strong winds blowing in because of a Western Disturbance, MeT experts believe that the weather is likely to get cold and foggy soon.