Delhi on Tuesday woke up to a severe cold wave as the minimum temperature dipped to 7 degrees Celcius during the early morning hours. Dense fog covered the national capital as the cold wave continued.
The condition could persist over the region for the next few days, reported ANI. "Cold Day/Severe Cold Day Conditions very likely in some parts over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and West Rajasthan and cold day conditions in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand on 26th and 27th December 2022," IMD had said in a bulletin at 3.30 pm on Monday.
An orange alert is in place due to the cold wave outbreak in Delhi. The department has also predicted dense fog due to the prevailing light wind and high moisture in lower tropospheric levels. "Dense to Very Dense Fog very likely to continue over some parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi and West Rajasthan during the next 48 hours," the IMD said.
The air quality too remained very low in the state.
According to the meteorologists, the sharp drop in day temperatures is due to the frigid northwesterly winds barrelling through the plains and reduced sunshine due to foggy weather.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather, told PTI that a western disturbance led to a fresh spell of snowfall in the mountains on December 25-26 and cold northwesterly winds are now sweeping through the plains after its retreat.
"An increase in the humidity levels due to the WD resulted in dense to very dense fog which reduced the sunshine, pulling down the day temperature further," he said. He added that the wind chill factor -- a measure of the rate of heat loss from the skin that is exposed to the air -- is also high.
Meanwhile, Delhi airport authorities in an early morning update informed that while landings and take-offs continue, flights not equipped for low visibility operations may get affected. The authorities have advised passengers to get in touch with their service providers for updated information on flight schedules.