Delhi gets some relief from cold wave but fog likely to continue

National capital Delhi got some relief from biting cold and dense fog on Tuesday after almost a week-long spell of the cold wave that had halted normal life and hit rail and air traffic. According to the India Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature on Tuesday is likely to be around 19 degrees Celsius and the mercury may drop to 5 degrees celsius at night.

Though there was fog in the morning, the sky is expected to clear during the afternoon hours, according to an IMD forecast for the day.

The weather agency said the minimum temperature in Delhi is lower than that in prominent hill stations such as Nainital, Manali, and Shimla.

The cold wave in the national capital this time has persisted for the longest duration in the past 10 years. Meteorologists say this was because of a large gap between two western disturbances, which meant frosty winds from the snow-clad mountains blew in for a longer-than-usual period.

IMD has also said that there's a possibility of rainfall during the next two days, which is likely to disperse the fog.

According to the India Institute of Tropical Meteorology, visibility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport was 258 metres at 8.55 am this morning, suggesting an improvement from Monday's conditions.

However, IMD has said dense fog may continue in parts of Chandigarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the night and morning hours until Wednesday due to prevailing light winds and high moisture near the surface over the Indo-Gangetic plains. Dense-to-very dense fog is likely in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the next 24 hours.

Due to the approaching fresh western disturbance from Tuesday night, minimum temperatures are likely to rise by 2-4 per cent over northwest India during the next 2-3 days.

The air quality and weather bulletin said the predominant surface wind is likely to come from several directions in Delhi with a wind speed of 6-8 kmph.

At least 36 trains were running late under the Northern Railway this morning. Around 40 flights have been delayed at Delhi airport due to weather conditions, according to a new agency report.