According to IMD, North India is expected to receive normal and above normal rainfall in February after a drier than normal season in December and January. On Wednesday, the first heavy snowfall of the year in the tribal areas and other high altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh disrupted normal life and 134 roads including four national highways had to be closed.
Sandeep Sharma, an official of the Meteorological Department, told 'PTI-Bhasha' that snowfall of about 15 cm was recorded in the upper areas of Shimla district since Tuesday night. The local weather office has issued an orange warning of heavy snowfall and rain in five districts – Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti on January 31 and February 1.
Light rain increased the cold in some parts of Delhi on Wednesday and the maximum temperature in the city dropped to 18.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average. According to IMD, after the drizzle, the maximum temperature of the city has dropped significantly, which is about three degrees less than 21.4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 7.3 degrees Celsius, one degree below the season's average.
The weather office has predicted thunderstorms in the city and wind speed of 30-40 kilometers per hour till night. Officials said that in Jammu and Kashmir, there was snowfall again in the upper areas including the Zojila axis on the Srinagar-Leh highway, while it rained in the plains.
The local weather office has also issued an avalanche warning for six districts of Jammu and Kashmir – Poonch, Baramulla, Bandipora, Kupwara, Doda and Ganderbal. The Uttarakhand Meteorological Department on Wednesday has issued a yellow alert for heavy rain, snowfall and thundershowers in some parts of the hilly areas of the state for the next 24 hours.
IMD has predicted above normal rainfall (more than 122 percent of the long term average) in February. Long Term Average (LPA) is the average rainfall recorded in an area over a specified period of time. IMD said that due to western disturbance, there is a possibility of light rain in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the Meteorological Department and scientist, said, “Another western disturbance is expected on February 2, which will bring a possible change in the weather of Delhi.” He said that after February 4 and 5, the dense fog will reduce and the weather will improve. Remarkable changes will be seen.
Srivastava said that, however, dense fog will persist in the morning and evening. Light to moderate rain occurred in other parts of Delhi including Punjabi Bagh, Najafgarh, Dwarka, Delhi Cantonment, Palam, Safdarjung, Lodhi Road and IGI Airport.
The drizzle improved the fog level in the national capital. On Wednesday morning, a thick layer of fog covered the city, affecting air and rail traffic. Officials said zero visibility was recorded at Indira Gandhi Airport at 6.30 am and dense fog was seen in the area. This foggy situation continued till around nine in the morning.
An official said that due to bad weather on Wednesday morning, flight operations at Delhi airport were badly affected and about 100 flights were delayed. He said that at least 5 flights including one international flight were diverted while many were cancelled.
Another official said that many trains were delayed due to dense fog. According to the Meteorological Department, Delhi's main meteorological center Safdarjung Observatory recorded its second lowest monthly average maximum temperature of 17.7 degrees Celsius in January in the last 74 years.
The lowest average monthly maximum temperature was recorded at 17.6 °C in January 2003. According to official data till Tuesday, the average minimum temperature in the national capital during this period was 6.2 degrees Celsius, which is the lowest in 13 years.
This time in Delhi, for 20 days during December-January, there was “dense to very dense fog” at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport for a total of 128 hours and the visibility was less than 200 meters, which is the highest for the third time in 10 years. Is. A senior official said that due to western disturbance the weather is expected to continue fluctuating till February 3.
Meanwhile, despite rain in Delhi, the air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 386 at 7 pm, which falls in the 'very poor' category. IMD Director General Mrityunjay Mahapatra said in a press conference that India may receive more rainfall than normal during February.
IMD said that the rainfall in northwest India during January 2024 was the second lowest since 1901 with 3.1 mm. North India, comprising seven meteorological sub-divisions, is predicted to receive above normal rainfall (more than 122 percent of the long-term average) in February.
According to IMD, more than normal rainfall is expected in most parts of Northeast, Central and North-West India and below normal rainfall in the South Peninsula. According to this, the minimum temperature in most parts of the country is likely to be above normal.
IMD has predicted the maximum temperatures in February to be above normal in parts of north-west, west-central, north-east and east-central India. The department said that the maximum temperatures in most parts of Peninsular India and some parts of East-Central India are expected to be normal and below normal.
“Below normal cold wave days are likely in parts of central India during February,” it said. Mohapatra said most models indicate La Nina conditions around July-September, which are expected to be observed in the Indian south. -West is considered favorable for monsoon.
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