New Delhi: A woman warms herself in front of a small fire during a cold and foggy morning, in New Delhi, Saturday, January 22, 2022. Photo: PTI/Kamal Kishore
New Delhi: The minimum temperatures in northwest and central India are likely to drop by 3-5°C over the next five days, leading to cold day conditions in Delhi and a cold wave in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Cold day to severe cold day conditions are very likely over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat over the next two to three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.
Cold wave to severe cold wave is very likely in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Gujarat over the next five days.
Dense to very dense fog is predicted in parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Tripura over the next two to three days, it said.
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According to the IMD, a “cold day” is when the minimum temperature is less than 10°C and the maximum is at least 4.5°C below normal.
A “severe” cold day is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 notches below normal.
In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4°C. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10°C or below and is 4.5 notches less than normal.
A “severe” cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to 2°C or the departure from normal is more than 6.4°C.
When visibility due to fog is reduced to the range of 0 to 50 metres is categorised as “very dense” fog, between 51 and 200 metres, it is “dense” fog, between 201 and 500 metres “moderate”, and it is categorised as “shallow” if the visibility is between 501 and 1,000 metres.
(PTI)