The minimum temperature in the national capital dropped below 10 degrees Celsius for the first time this season on Thursday, falling to 9.4°C, three notches below the normal mercury level, even as the met department said winter is settling in early this year.
The maximum temperature, meanwhile, stood at 25.6°C, two degrees below normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had on Monday forecast that minimum temperatures would fall under the 10°C mark this week because of cold winds blowing in from the direction of the snow-clad western Himalayas.
Adampur and Faridkot in Punjab recorded the lowest minimum temperatures of the season so far on Thursday at 5.6°C, Hisar, Narnaul, Rohtak, Sirsa recorded temperatures of 8.2, 8, 9 and 8°C respectively.
“Normally, minimum temperatures don’t drop below 10°C in November. In recent years, in 2017 during the last week of November, the minimum temperature had dipped to 7.6 degree C. It’s unusual for minimum temperatures to drop to single digits around this time. Winter is setting in early this year,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre. In 2019 the lowest November temperature was 11.4 degree C and in 2018 it was 10.5 degree C.
The weather forecaster on Thursday said it expects mercury levels to fall further from Sunday.
“We are seeing a dip in minimum temperatures across northwest India and expect temperatures to dip further from November 22, when a western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region,” Srivastava said.
He added that winds are likely to get faster from Friday, up to around 18kmph, thereby also dispersing pollution in the region. Delhi on Thursday recorded an air quality index (AQI) reading of 283, categorised as ‘poor’.
“The fall in minimum temperature is not abrupt. There are clear skies now, so the heat is radiating back. Minimum temperatures may go up marginally on November 21 before falling again after the western disturbance passes. There is a slight northerly incursion of cold winds and we are climatologically moving towards cold days,” said K Sathi Devi, head of national weather forecasting centre.
A low-pressure area has formed over central parts of south Arabian Sea. It is likely to move west-northwestwards and concentrate into a depression over southwest Arabian Sea during the next 48 hours.
IMD, in its Thursday bulletin, said minimum temperatures are likely to fall gradually by 2-4°C over northwest India during the next three days and over central India by 2-4°C gradually after 24 hours.
