Delhi temperature plunged from 10.2°C to 1.4°C in 2 days, 'clear skies' behind sharp dip

Amid a fresh severe cold wave, the national capital saw the minimum temperature plunged nearly 9 degrees Celsius in a matter of two days from Saturday to Monday. Delhi saw a minimum temperature of 10.2°C on Saturday, which halved to 4.7°C on Sunday. On Monday, the temperature plunged to as low as 1.4°C at Delhi’s base station, Safdarjung observatory.

What caused the sharp dip in Delhi’s temperature?

As per weather experts, the reason behind the sharp dip was “clear skies”.

The Himalayan region saw heavy snowfall due to a strong western disturbance (WD) and once it retreated on January 14, cold northwesterly winds began sweeping through the plains bringing a fresh spell of cold wave conditions, Mahesh Palawat, a senior meteorologist at Skymet Weather was quoted as saying.

Clear skies meant that the heat from the sun was not retained and lost into space at night.

“The sharp dip in the temperature is due to clear skies which allowed the infrared radiation (heat from the sun) to escape back into space at night," the weather expert explained. 

IMD weather forecast: How cold will it get? When will conditions improve?

As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature in Delhi could dip to 1°C on Tuesday, which would mean the lowest in at least one and a half decade. Delhi logged 1.1°C last on January 1, 2021, the year’s coldest day apart from Monday. The lowest for Delhi was 0.6°C on January 16,1935.

However, IMD officials expect excellent sunshine during the cold wave this time around unlike last time. On January 8 amid the intense cold wave from January 5-9, the minimum temperature plunged to 1.9°C. The same clear skies that caused the temperature to plunge will ensure Delhi gets normal day temperatures and absence of fog.

“Cold wave conditions will prevail during the night and early morning. So, this cold spell cannot be compared with the previous one,” an IMD official said. As per the weather agency, the cold wave conditions will abate from January 19 due to the two western disturbances which are likely to follow in quick succession.

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(Inputs from PTI)