The city known for its biting cold conditions experienced a mild winter peak this season, with January’s lowest temperature at 4.8℃, well above the sub-2℃ lows seen in recent years
Bright, sunny days are signalling the retreat of Delhi’s peak winter, which has passed with no cold wave or cold days this January. The city known for its biting-cold conditions experienced one of the mildest winter peaks this year, with January’s lowest temperature at 4.8℃ recorded on the 9th — well above the sub-2℃ lows seen in recent years.
The night temperatures hovered over 6 to 11℃ for most days of the month, with 15 to 25℃ during the day.
This stood in stark contrast to last year when the national capital experienced five cold wave days when mercury dipped to 3.3℃. In 2023 too, Delhi remained under the grip of a chilling cold wave for eight days with the season’s lowest at 1.4℃. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declares a cold wave when the minimum temperature drops below-normal by at least -4.5℃ to -6.4℃ consecutively for two days.
SUNNIER DAYS, TEMPERATURES TOUCHING 25℃
This year, there were sunnier days and clear skies, especially after January 18 when the day temperatures gradually started rising and remained above-normal by at least 4 to 6℃ from January 19-22. The mercury is currently settling around 25℃ — nearly 2-3℃ above-normal in the city, while it is slightly below-normal during the night.
“We are clearly observing a rising trend in day temperatures,” said Dr Shyam Das Kotal, senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Delhi. This also follows IMD’s earlier prediction of fewer cold waves over North India this winter due to the changing global conditions and above-normal monthly minimum temperatures during December-February.
The average monthly night-time temperatures were evidently higher than last January, rising from 6.5℃ to 8.4℃ so far following the long-term trend of higher minimum temperatures being observed by meteorologists in recent years. The impact of warming is being more experienced during the winter months, they highlight.
A MILD WINTER: LA NIÑA SIGNAL
It is a La Niña year, when the temperatures over the equatorial Pacific Ocean become cooler in December, influencing the weather worldwide. India normally witnesses a harsh winter during this period but since La Niña formed later than usual and remained weak, it has failed to cause conventional winter impacts. This, in India, means not milder winter conditions.
Meanwhile, with the peak of winter clearly on retreat in Delhi, the sharp chill is also fading out with a steady rise in temperatures. The weather remained clear over the past one week, until January 29 when shallow fog enveloped the city once again and nights became cooler.
