A western disturbance weather system that passed over Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week brought along cold northwesterly winds with its passage and that has caused temperatures to dip across the northern belt, meteorologists said.
The winter chill made a comeback in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) and northern states as temperatures fell across the region after being warmer than normal for a spell of more than three weeks. The daytime temperature in Delhi dipped to 19 degree Celsius after being five degrees above normal for much of January while the minimum temperature was 9.6 degree Celsius.
A western disturbance weather system that passed over Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week brought along cold northwesterly winds with its passage and that has caused temperatures to dip across the northern belt, meteorologists said. Earlier, in December, the western disturbances were feeble and as a result the northern plains did not see chilly conditions. The chilly conditions also caused the wind speed to rise to 10-15km/hour
The passage of western disturbance also resulted in widespread rainfall across Punjab with some parts of the state receiving as much as 20mm rainfall. Rainfall in northern states was much needed as it is crucial for Rabi crops such as wheat, pulses and oilseeds. "Conditions in the northern states and plains have turned colder in the wake of a western disturbance. There was fog and dense fog at several places that was lifted up, reducing the penetration of sun's radiation making the weather chilly," said GP Sharma, vice-president, meteorology, Skymet weather services.
Punjab and Haryana also saw their first 'cold day' conditions as day time or maximum temperature dropped below 16 degrees. In Punjab, Amritsar's day time temperature was 15.7 degree Celsius, Jalandhar recorded 11.5 degree Celsius, Ludhiana was 12.4 degree Celsius while Patiala recorded 15 degree Celsius. According to the Met department, cold day conditions will continue in the northern belt through the weekend.
In fact, temperatures are expected to drop across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana increasing the possibility of chillier conditions in the Delhi-NCR region. The capital and adjacent areas though will have to wait longer for its first spell of winter rainfall as conditions are not conducive yet. "Temperatures won't see a drastic drop in Delhi-NCR and rainfall won't occur for another 5-7 days," Sharma added.
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