Report by Shuchi Giridhar
A cold wave is currently being observed in North India.
The temperature recorded in Delhi on Sunday morning was 1.9 degrees Celsius. This has been the lowest temperature recorded for the entire season. A dense fog has covered several States located in Northern India including Delhi.
Several flights and trains bound for Delhi have gotten delayed due to the dense fog. Over 100 flights which were to land at Indira Gandhi International airport, Delhi were delayed. And 42 trains arrived at Delhi late.
The cold wave has been going on for the past four days. It had been earlier predicted that the cold wave would end on Sunday, but now it has been concluded that it will only end on Tuesday.
What is a cold wave and when is it announced?
A cold wave is a phenomenon used to describe the sudden drop of temperature causing the air to become cooler. When there is a rapid drop of temperature within a period of 24 hours it is described as a cold wave. The amount of rapid fall in the temperature is dependent on geographical conditions and the current season. If the temperature drops to around 4 degrees Celsius it is officially declared a cold wave. Sunday morning was supposedly the coldest morning in the past two years.
Delhi was also consumed by fog for 15.5 hours, and for nine hours, the visibility was under 200m. At 2:30 am there was only 50m of visibility at Indira Gandhi International airport, which later changed to 100m at 10am. The last time such a wave hit India was on 1st January 2021.
The Met department has also warned of a second cold wave in Delhi from 14-17 January.