Gurgaon experiences December cold.
(Vinay Gupta/BCCL)
Wednesday, November 4: In the past couple of weeks, the pleasant chill over the Indo-Gangetic plains has turned harsh, with biting cold and dense fog permeating the region. The shivering conditions and low visibility have made stepping out a risky endeavour for Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh residents.
Earlier this week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a long-range monthly forecast that the temperatures will likely remain below normal over many parts of northwest India during the entire month of January 2023.
So far, the projections have held true, with coldwave to severe coldwave conditions observed in many places over Punjab and isolated areas in Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana in the last 24 hours. Gurdaspur was Punjab’s coldest today with a minimum temperature of 2.5°C, while Narnaul in Haryana recorded 3.8°C. Delhi’s Ridge recorded the lowest temperature of 3.3°C on Wednesday morning — around 4 units below normal.
The red warning prevails
As per current IMD forecasts, coldwave to severe coldwave conditions will prevail in some pockets of these states until Friday (January 6). In Delhi, the minimum temperature will likely stay consistently below 4°C till Saturday.
The IMD declares a coldwave in the plains when the minimum temperature is below 10°C, and the subsequent maximum temperature drops at least 4.5°C below normal. On the other hand, a severe cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature dips to 2°C or the departure from normal is more than 6.4°C.
In view of these conditions, the IMD has issued a red warning (meaning ‘take action’) over these regions on Wednesday and Thursday. An orange alert will replace the warning on Friday.
District-level alerts have been issued across Punjab’s Gurdaspur, Firozpur, Ludhiana, Barnala, Patiala, Mansa, Kapurthala, Faridkot, and Muktara and Sirsa, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jind, Kurukshetra, Hisar, Ambala, Rewari in Haryana for today.
Blinding fog blankets northwest India
Apart from the frigid conditions, the red warning is also due to dense to very dense fog forecast over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. Visibility is likely to drop to nearly zero in the night and morning hours for the next 4-5 days owing to light winds and high surface moisture across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Over the last 24 hours, dense to very dense fog occurred at many places over Punjab, at a few places over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi as well. Commuters in Punjab faced inconvenience as the visibility was down to zero and 50 meters in Amritsar, Pathankot, Ludhiana, Patiala, Adampur, Halwara and Bathinda. In the wake of the same harsh weather conditions, the government has extended winter holidays in the state-run schools. As many as 20 flights were delayed in Delhi due to foggy weather conditions early Wednesday.
Apart from the coldwave and foggy conditions, Delhi also grapples with a ‘very poor’ AQI (air quality index) of 353. Conditions are likely to worsen over the next three days due to the low temperature and lack of surface winds.
Residents would do well to take precautionary measures to keep themselves safe during such cold conditions. These include drinking plenty of warm fluids, eating a diet rich in Vitamin C, keeping your skin moisturised using oil or cream and wearing adequate warm clothes before stepping out. However, people with respiratory problems are advised against going out unless absolutely necessary.
Going out in the fog shall be avoided, and if strictly necessary, drive very slowly, using low-beam headlights and honking at appropriate times.
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