The national capital witnessed light rainfall on Sunday, leading to disruptions in road, flights, and rail operations, causing inconvenience to commuters amid chilly conditions. The rainfall is a result of a fresh western disturbance that hit northwest India on Saturday and currently, along with an induced cyclonic circulation, lies over southwest Rajasthan and adjoining Pakistan. Dense fog, which slightly subsided in the past two days, will make a comeback in Delhi-NCR as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted the same in the morning hours of February 5 and 6. According to the IMD, no cold day conditions were observed on Sunday. The IMD has predicted more rain and moderate fog during the night hours.
In its advisory to Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the IMD said dense fog may affect air, rail routes, and road traffic in the area on Monday and Tuesday. The advisory further suggests driving carefully, and unless precautionary measures are taken, it may lead to some road traffic collisions.
A fresh spell of snowfall in Himachal Pradesh has led to the closure of 518 roads in the State, while snowfall across the Kashmir Valley affected normal life on Sunday, with all flights cancelled at Srinagar airport. Officials said 161 roads have been closed in Shimla, followed by 157 in Lahaul and Spiti, 71 in Kullu, 69 in Chamba, and 46 in Mandi district.
As many as 478 transformers and 567 water supply schemes have been disrupted.
The national capital and the surrounding areas woke up to light rain and strong icy winds as the minimum temperature in the capital city rose to 11.9 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average. Strong surface winds added to the chill in the night and morning in Delhi and the surrounding areas.
IMD data showed that different pockets of Delhi received rain between 5 am and 8 am, and the city received 3 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours at 8:30 am. Light rainfall overnight on Saturday and Sunday morning, combined with a thin layer of fog, affected ground operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, leading to delays in several flights. The visibility at Safdarjung was observed to be 500 meters at 8:30 am. Among the delayed flights, a significant number were scheduled to fly to international destinations such as Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Viana, Toronto, Bangkok, and Dubai.
The maximum temperature settled at 20.3 degrees Celsius, two notches below the normal. Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge, Ayanagar, Jafarpur, Narela, Pitampura, and SPS Mayur Vihar recorded maximum temperatures of 20.3 degrees Celsius, 19.4 degrees Celsius, 19.9 degrees Celsius, 19.2 degrees Celsius, 20.8 degrees Celsius, 20.4 degrees Celsius, and 18.2 degrees Celsius.
IMD Scientist Naresh says that after a western disturbance brought recent rainy weather to north India, another disturbance is expected to affect the weather this weekend in the mountainous areas. He said, “Another Western Disturbance will start affecting from tomorrow, which will lead to heavy snowfall and rainfall in the mountain regions. Rainfall and snowfall may be expected between 75 to 100 per cent of the stations.”
He added on February 4, snowfall is expected in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, while Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, and North-West Madhya Pradesh may experience light hailstorms.
He went on to say that Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are expected to receive snowfall on February 4, while light hailstorms are possible in Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, and north-west Madhya Pradesh. “Whenever there is a Western Disturbance, it leads to changes in wind patterns. So it results in a rising tendency in temperature. We do not expect the temperature to drop in north-west India and central India. Temperatures will increase during the morning. Dense fog may be expected in the morning in isolated pockets in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi NCR,” Naresh said.
He continued by saying that due to the western disturbance, cold wave conditions will not prevail in north India in the coming days. He said, “There will not be a cold day, as temperatures will not drop in the next few days. So we are not expecting a cold day in the next few days. We are also not expecting a cold wave in the next 5-7 days.”
