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COLD-WEATHER-NEW DELHI
Delhi freezes at 2.4 deg C; coldest day of season, fog hits visibility
NEW DELHI, Dec 28, 2019 (BSS/PTI) – The national capital on Saturday
recorded its coldest day of the season as the minimum temperature plummeted
to 2.4 degrees Celsius in the morning, officials said.
Dense fog enveloped the city reducing visibility and affecting air traffic
and vehicular movement in the streets.
Mercury fell to its lowest in Delhi this season with the Safdarjung
Observatory, whose reading is considered the official marking for the city,
recording 2.4 degrees Celsius in the morning.
Other observatories recorded as follows: Palam 3.1 degrees Celsius, Lodhi
Road 1.7 degrees Celsius, Aya Nagar 1.9 degrees Celsius, a senior MeT
Department official said.
Due to very dense fog, zero visibility was reported in Palam Observatory
area, which neighbours the city airport.
Due to heavy fog on Saturday morning, four flights have been diverted from
Delhi airport, said an airport official.
The official said that the flights are operating at the airport under CAT
III B conditions, which means that the runway visual range (RVR) is between
50 metre and 175 metre.
Cold wave and severe cold day has been forecast over Delhi-NCR on
Saturday, senior meteorologist at IMD, Kuldeep Srivastava said.
Since 1992, the minimum temperature at Safdarjung Observatory was 2.4
degrees Celsius on December 30, 2013 and 2.3 degrees Celsius on December 11,
1996. The all-time record of low is zero degrees on December 27 in 1930, he
said.
With chilling cold continuing to sweep Delhi-NCR, the region is expected
to record its second-coldest December since 1901, the weather department had
said on Thursday.
“The mean maximum temperature for December was less than 20 degrees
Celsius only in 1919, 1929, 1961 and 1997,” an official of the India
Meteorological Department said.
In December this year, the mean maximum temperature (MMT) till Thursday
was 19.85 degrees Celsius. It is expected to dip to 19.15 degrees Celsius by
December 31, he said.
Since December 14, most parts of the city have witnessed 13 consecutive
“cold days” or a 13-day “cold spell”. The last time such a long cold spell
was witnessed was in December 1997.
After 1992, Delhi has had cold spells only in four years – 1997, 1998,
2003 and 2014.
“Severe cold day/cold day” conditions are predicted till December 29.
BSS/PTI/ARS/1327 hrs