CITY WEATHER GOING HAYWIRE

Mindless destruction of the Aravallis that shielded Delhi from heat waves and icy winds are to blame, say experts

- S Kannan, Gulam Jeelani & Shashank Shekhar

ON June 10, Delhi boiled at 48 degrees Celsius, an all-time high for a day in that month, triggering a record number of heat-related cases and prompting doctors to declare a health emergency and call the situation dangerous. The temperature was also the city’s highest across all months since 1998.

On Wednesday, the National Capital froze to the bone at 5.4 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average.

This is Delhi’s longest and extremely cold spell in December in 22 years. It has matched the record of 13 cold days in a row seen in 1997.

In December 2014, Delhi faced this for eight consecutive days. The mercury is expected to drop to 4 degrees Celsius over the weekend, triggering cold wave conditions. Severe cold conditions will continue in the city till December 28, along with dense to very dense fog during night and morning hours, weather experts said.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the Indian Meteorological Department’s regional weather forecasting centre, said the mean maximum temperature (MMT) in Delhi is expected to dip to 19.15 degrees Celsius by December 31 and if that happens, it will be the second-coldest December since 1901.

EXTREME SWING EXPLAINED

Met officials attributed extreme cold to the heavy snowfall in the hills between December 12 and 13. Icy north-northwesterly winds in Delhi came soon after moderate rain, they said.

“There are two reasons for cold day conditions. One is the snow in mountains and another is fog which blocks the sunlight. The two reasons rarely occur simultaneously. But when do, like they have done this time, the weather turns extreme like it has,” Srivastava said.

But it’s equally a man-made disaster. Experts say mindless destruction of the Aravallis that protects the region from both heat and cold is behind this unusual phenomenon.