 "Delhi winter")
Delhi weather: Delhi experienced the coldest day of the winter season on Tuesday, with the minimum temperature plummeting to 5.3 degrees Celsius (C) and the maximum temperature hitting a two-year low at 13.4 degrees Celsius, six degrees below normal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) anticipates yet another cold day in the national capital, with residents waking up to chilly temperatures on Wednesday morning, as the minimum temperature reached 7.1 degrees Celsius.
The IMD forecasts that both maximum and minimum temperatures will settle around 15 degrees C and 7 degrees C, respectively.
Yellow Alert issued in Delhi
A "yellow alert" has been issued for Delhi, with the maximum temperature expected to be around 16°C.
The intense daytime cold affected Delhi and its neighbouring cities uniformly, with "severe cold day" to "cold day" conditions recorded at all 10 operational city stations. This weather pattern extended to Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, and Noida. A yellow alert for cold day conditions, coupled with moderate to shallow fog, has been issued for certain parts of Delhi.
While a western disturbance influenced other parts of the northern plains, bringing drizzle to isolated locations in the city, Delhi's air quality remained "very poor" with a reading of 343.
In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, minimum temperatures in Kanpur and Agra dropped to 1.1 degrees Celsius and 1.0 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Night shelters for homeless in Delhi
As temperatures dropped, homeless people sought refuge in government-run night shelters in Delhi. These shelters aim to provide warmth, offering blankets, beds, hot water, and food to those living on the streets.
More From This Section
A caretaker from a night shelter in Delhi's Anand Vihar told ANI, that a rescue team has been deployed to bring people from roadsides to these shelters. He highlighted the rescue team's efforts to bring those found lying on roads to safety of the shelters amid the cold.
Dense fog to prevail in North India
The IMD forecasts dense fog conditions for several hours in the morning in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh from January 10 to 14. Additionally, dense fog is expected in the Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, north Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and other parts of East and Northeast India on Wednesday.
The department predicts continued cold wave conditions in parts of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Ground frost conditions are anticipated in Uttarakhand from January 10 to 12. The weather outlook suggests no major temperature change in the next 48 hours.
Rains expected in South India
The met department noted a cyclonic circulation over Southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian, with a trough extending to south Gujarat at lower tropospheric levels. Under the influence of these systems, light to moderate rainfall is likely in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, coastal Karnataka, and Lakshadweep islands during the next three days.
