Delhi Sees Coldest December Day Since 1901, 500 Flights Delayed
Over 500 flights were delayed, 21 were diverted and 5 were cancelled due to dense fog at the Delhi airport.
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Delhi, which is shivering under an intense spell of cold wave for two weeks, has experienced its coldest day ever in the month of December on Monday, with the maximum temperature being recorded at just 9.4 degrees Celsius, the IMD announced, according to PTI.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the regional weather forecasting centre, said the day temperature was almost half of what is considered normal for this day of the year.
The temperature recorded by the Safdarjung laboratory at 2:30 pm was 9.4 degrees Celsius.
Over 500 flights were delayed, 21 were diverted and 5 were cancelled due to dense fog at the Delhi Airport on Monday, an airport official said, according to ANI.
Since 14 December, the national capital has been experiencing severe cold days with the average minimum temperature on Sunday morning being recorded at 3.4 degrees Celsius, four notches below what is considered normal for this time of the year, PTI reported.
Temperature Plummets to 2.5 Degrees on Sunday
The minimum temperature in various parts of Delhi on Sunday, varied with 2.5 degrees Celsius being recorded at Ayanagar, 2.8 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 3.2 degrees Celsius at Palam and 3.6 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, PTI reported.
The maximum temperature in various parts of Delhi varied with 14.8 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar, 15.6 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 13.5 degrees Celsius at Palam and 15.8 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung.
Meanwhile, humidity levels in the city oscillated between 64 percent to 100 percent, the Met office added.
Light Rain Expected Over Delhi-NCR from 1-3 Jan
For Monday, the weatherman has predicted dense fog in the morning with cold day at a few places in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), according to PTI.
A significant increase in wind speed is also expected over Delhi-NCR from Tuesday evening under the influence of approaching western disturbance and easterly winds in lower level, the Met department said.
Delhi had recorded the season's coldest day on Saturday with the minimum temperature dropping to 2.4 degrees Celsius.
Schools Closed; Rail, Air Traffic Hit
The Haryana government on Sunday, decided to close schools for two days and reduced visibility due to dense fog affected the movement of flights and trains at several places, PTI reported.
As minimum temperatures have been hovering close to the freezing point at some places, the state government has decided to close schools on 30 and 31 December, an official statement said.
While 13 trains were delayed for up to six hours due to fog, the operations were normal at Delhi airport and there were no diversion or cancellations on Sunday, according to PTI.
The frigid temperatures, high humidity and low wind speed allowed accumulation of pollutants leading further deterioration in the national capital's air quality on Sunday. The overall air quality index stood at 437 at 4 pm.
Cold Wave Intensifies Across North India
In Rajasthan, Jaipur's minimum temperature settled at 1.4 degrees Celsius – lowest in more than five decades while heavy fog and intense cold wave affected normal life, PTI reported.
The Met department said severe cold will continue unabated over the next couple of days in Haryana and Punjab.
Himachal Pradesh too is likely to witness snowfall on New Year's eve while isolated places in the plains and low hills may get rainfall on 1 and 2 January.
In Uttar Pradesh, dry weather persisted while cold wave intensified in most parts.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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