National capital Delhi, the North of India and even Eastern States like Odisha are shivering under intense cold yet here in the twin cities, the winter seems to have given us a go by this year. However, there is hope in the horizon and the weather forecast is more cooler nights in the coming days.
“We could see a drop in the night temperatures from January 5 onwards in the range of 10-12 degree Celsius from the present 17-20 degree Celsius. The day temperatures are likely to remain in the current moderate scale of 27-30 degree Celsius and this could extend up to February,” said A. Sravani, scientist, India Meteorological Department (IMD), here.
There could be light to moderate showers prior to that as is being experienced on Tuesday and likely to be experienced for another two days in the capital and parts of Telangana. It is because of the ‘Southeast Westerly winds’ bringing moisture from Bay of Bengal and even though it has a soothing influence on the weather, it would not lead to reduction in temperatures, she said.
Dr. Sravani attributed the severe cold conditions in the North of the country on the ‘Western Disturbances’ — an extra-tropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region like the Caspian Sea bringing sudden winter to the north-western parts of the country into Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, crossing over from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
These are likely to dissipate in the coming days and give way to the ‘Northerly Winds’ and these could bring down the minimum temperatures by more than a few notches here and it could be felt quite considerably during the forthcoming Pongal/Sankranti festival season, she said. The twin cities and rest of the State usually witnesses peak winter from the middle of December, 15,16 & 17, as it happened last year, but this year due to ‘global warming’, the winter cold effect has been missing, the scientist added.
