17dec

Wednesday 18-25 December , 2014
INDIA
12
WET AND COLD
NORTH INDIA
(Agencies) Delhi's famous
winter has arrived with a vengeance.
Just when people began
to grumble about a markedly
warm December, the cold set in,
with heavy rain and strong winds
intensifying the chill.
A good 7° below normal,
Sunday’s maximum temperature
of 16°C made it the coldest day
this season, with the minimum
settling at 14.2°C.
Winter lovers won't be bothered
by Monday blues as the
weatherman predicted a fall of 3-
5°C in the minimum temperature
over the next three days. “Sunday
witnessed cold day conditions
(when maximum temperature
is lower than or equal to
16°C),” B.P. Yadav, head of India
Meteorological Department’s
North India Shivers as
rain and strong winds
finally usher in winter
(IMD) weather forecasting division,
said.
The relative humidity (maximum)
on Sunday was recorded
at 93 per cent with the Capital
receiving a rainfall of 3.5 mm. The
chill was strengthened as winds
of 21 kilometres per hour lashed
the city. The weatherman attributed
the phenomenon to Western
Disturbance over Jammu and
Kashmir and Pakistan, which induced
an upper air cyclonic circulation
over north-west
Rajasthan and adjoining Haryana.
As a consequence, heavy
rains lashed all of North India,
and Shimla and Manali were covered
by a thick blanket of snow.
According to private weather
forecaster Skymet, Manali recorded
a maximum temperature
of 10.4°C and minimum of
0°C on Sunday morning,
while the maximum and
minimum in Shimla
settled at 6.7°C and
0.4°C, respectively.
Punjab and Haryana
Capital Chandigarh recorded
a day temperature
of 15.2°C, with the
mercury settling at
10.6°C at night.
Amritsar recorded a
maximum temperature
of 19.2°C and
minimum of 8.6°C.
Over the next three days, the
IMD has forecast a 3-5°C fall in
minimum temperatures across
parts of north-west and central India.
Delhi will be blanketed by
dense fog on Monday (today),
which will reduce visibility to 200
metres or below and persist over
the next two days. A similar prediction
has been made for
Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh. Monday will see a
cloudy sky in Delhi, with the minimum
temperature likely to hover
around 12°C and the maximum,
18°C. Between Tuesday and Friday,
the minimum and maximum
temperatures shall oscillate between
8-9°C, and 20-21°C, respectively.
According to the IMD,
the Capital will witness clear
skies on Tuesday and Wednesday,
with clouds likely to return
in the subsequent two days. “As
the skies clear up in the
next two days, the minimum
temperature will come down
while the maximum for the day
will go up. Similar weather conditions
will prevail over the
whole of North India,” Yadav
said. “The western disturbances
will persist over Jammu
and Kashmir for 2-3 days. The
minimum temperature will drop
as the Western Disturbance
moves away, while maximum
will maintain its level or rise marginally,”
G.P. Sharma, head of
Skymet’s Meteorology Division
said. Sharma observed that in
a unique occurrence, while the
Western Disturbance has
brought snow to Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir
has only seen spells of rain.
“Shimla and Manali got snow
but Srinagar got none at all,” he
added.