Heavy snowfall has been reported in the higher altitude regions starting from November 15 which explains the drop in the temperature in the North-Western plains of the nation which includes Delhi.
Cold wave circumstances anticipated once again in North India! After a little respite from the dropping evening time temperature, the national capital is once again anticipated to obtain one more phase of cold wave in the coming days. The minimum temperature throughout the evening had abruptly dropped among November 16 and November 24 breaking the 17-year old record by reaching 6.3 degree celsius, the Indian Express reported. However, for the final 4 days, the mercury has risen up in the city but the climate division has mentioned that Delhites really should brace one more bout of cold wave in the coming days.
What are the factors for such recurrent cold waves? One of the dominant factors for the dip in the temperature is the occurence of snowfall in the hilly states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand in the current days. Cold winds blowing from these regions is bringing the chill in the whole North Western Plains which includes the national capital. Heavy snowfall has been reported in the higher altitude regions starting from November 15 which explains the drop in the temperature in the North-Western plains of the nation which includes Delhi.
According to the meteorological specialists, the snowfall in the hilly states has been triggered due to a Western disturbance(also recognized as additional tropical storm) which had also brought sudden drop in the temperature, cloudy skies along with a shower in Delhi on November 15. The cloudy skies hinders the path of the sunrays and reduces the insolation of heat on the ground additional decreasing the day time temperature.
What defines a cold wave? IMD declares a period as a coldwave when there is a sudden drop in the evening time or minimum temperature of an location. For regions lying in the plains, the IMD’s criteria for declaring a coldwave is the dip in the minimum temperature up to or under 10 degree celsius along with departure from standard minimum temperature by 4.5 degree celsius or extra for two consecutive days. Except two days namely-November 16 and November 17- the evening time temperature in the national capital has remained under standard for the whole November month this year.
Meteorologists have also mentioned that the improvement of the La Nina climate pattern has also contributed to the chill in this year’s temperature. La Nina is an occasion throughout which massive-scale cooling of the surface water of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific ocean is recorded which brings alterations in the wind, stress and rainfall in the surrounding regions.
In addition to the national capital, the regions in the vicinity of snowfall prone states such as Punjab and Haryana are also anticipated to encounter a substantial drop in the temperature, according to the IMD forecast.