Delhi likely to get some relief from cold, dense fog till Jan 1: IMD

Days after witnessing cold wave and dense fog, Delhiites may get some relief from the chilly period from Wednesday till January 1 following western disturbance, said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official.

The city residents on Wednesday woke up to a thin layer of fog and a cold day with Palam weather station in Delhi recording a minimum temperature of 7.8 degree Celsius while Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 8.4 degree Celsius.

A cold day is when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 10 degrees Celsius below normal and the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 degrees below normal. A severe cold day is when the maximum is 6.5 degrees or more below normal. A 'severe' cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.

A senior IMD official predicted that the cold day conditions are likely to abate over northwest India from Wednesday and then return from December 31.

"From December 28, there will be improvement due to western disturbance and on December 29, fresh snowfall is expected in Jammu & Kashmir, Leh and some parts of Himachal Pradesh," said R.K. Jenamani, senior scientist, IMD.

Drizzle can be expected in parts of Punjab on December 29, said Jenamani, adding that the northern parts of the country will witness fresh cold wave conditions from December 31 onwards.

Meanwhile, dense fog was witnessed in Punjab's Bathinda as the city recorded zero visibility once again, however, visibility also remained low in parts of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.

The minimum temperatures were recorded in the range of 3-7 degree Celsius over many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh and adjoining northwest Madhya Pradesh.

Rajasthan's Churu, for last two consecutive days recorded extreme wintry conditions with minimum temperature even going at freezing point. Churu recorded a minimum temperature of 0.5 degree Celsius on Tuesday.

"Different stations of Rajasthan have been observing temperatures near freezing point and winter chill has only been increasing over the state. East Rajasthan is colder than west Rajasthan," said an official.

--IANS

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