Delhi experienced a cold and foggy Monday morning as the temperature dipped after light showers in the city, PTI reported. The India Meteorological Department said that the minimum temperature may go down to seven degrees Celsius on Monday.
“It will be mainly clear sky with moderate to dense fog in the morning,” said the weather bulletin. “Haze or smoke will be thereafter, with maximum temperature touching 18 degrees Celsius and minimum remaining at seven degrees Celsius.”
The fog led to a delay in all flight operations from the Delhi airport, ANI reported. Jet Airways said its flights were facing delays at Bengaluru and Bhopal as well.
The minimum temperature in Delhi is expected to further decrease by one to two degrees Celsius in the next few days after heavy snowfall in the western Himalayas. “The temperature in Delhi-National Capital Region will fall by one to two degrees, but it will not lead to cold wave like conditions,” India Meteorological Department’s Charan Singh told the Hindustan Times. “The minimum temperature may hover around five to six degrees.”
The snowfall on January 5 and January 6 was caused by a western disturbance over north Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and an induced cyclonic circulation at the lower levels over Haryana, Punjab and north Rajasthan. The weather department predicted “fairly widespread to widespread rain or snow over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand” in the next 24 hours until January 8, after which snowfall will reduce significantly.
The western Himalayan region will experience another western disturbance from January 8, which could to bring northwesterly winds to the northern region. This could lead to dense morning fog in many parts of northwest India in the next couple of days.
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