IMD predicts dip in Delhi-NCR temperature from Sunday

The weather office says the minimum temperature may settle around 3 degrees Celsius

NEW DELHI: Temperatures in Delhi-NCR are likely to dip from Sunday, the India Meteorological Department has predicted, as icy northeasterly winds from the snow-covered mountains have already started blowing towards the plains.

The western disturbance, which had brought reprieve from a cold spell in large swathes of north and northwest India, has begun to retreat, it said.

Large parts of north and northwest India recorded below-normal maximum and minimum temperatures on most days this month before the western disturbance brought relief, an IMD official said.

This was due to a layer of dense fog persisting over the Indo-Gangetic plains for the past 10 to 11 days and a large gap between two western disturbances that allowed frosty winds from snow-clad mountains to blow in for a longer-than-usual period, he added.

The weather office had earlier predicted the temperatures to plummet in Delhi-NCR next week, forecasting the minimum temperature to settle around 3 degrees Celsius.

On Saturday, the minimum temperature in the national capital settled at 10.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average. The maximum temperature was recorded at 18.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

The weather office predicted shallow fog for Sunday with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to settle around 17 and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively.