"Never Seen" Cold Wave Forecast of -4 Degree for North India: Expert

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• Jan 12, 2023 | Kabir Chakraborty

Severe chills are expected between January 14 and 19, with a peak from January 16 to 18, according to Navdeep Dahiya, the founder of Live Meteorological of India, an online weather platform.

Digital Desk: Even if temperatures in North India rise briefly this week, a meteorological expert predicts that January 2023 would be the coldest for the region, with temperatures in the plains dropping as low as -4 degrees Celsius next week.

Severe chills are expected between January 14 and 19, with a peak from January 16 to 18, according to Navdeep Dahiya, the founder of Live Meteorological of India, an online weather platform.

While mild rain in the national capital may provide some relief from the frigid temperatures for a few days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also stated that cold wave conditions are quite possible in isolated areas across Delhi and its neighbouring states beginning Saturday.

While he hedged his bets, saying there could be some changes in the outcome with three days to go and fog playing a critical part, the weatherman warned of single-digit maximum temperatures and "frosty mornings" or "coldblast" days.

"Also, to note this is a historic run so far in 11 days of Jan with next few days look really cold, #January 2023 can be historically coldest - maybe for 21st century so far?" Mr Dahiya tweeted.

After several weeks of bone-chilling evenings, the IMD predicted only short relief from the terrible cold this week for people of Northwest India.

Until Friday, an active western disturbance was expected to generate a 2-4 degree Celsius increase in low temperatures across the northwest plains. However, it warned of a further wave of extreme cold in the national capital.

The minimum temperature in Delhi was 9.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday, two notches above the season's normal, just days after the city experienced its third-worst cold wave in 23 years. According to the IMD, the highest temperature will be approximately 19 degrees Celsius.

"A similar circumstance occurred in 2006, when the lowest temperature was 1.9 degrees Celsius. There was a comparable cold spell in 2013 "RK Jenamani, an IMD weather specialist, informed the news agency ANI.

Mr Jenamani said that drizzle and light rain would fall across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, and North Rajasthan over the following four days.

"On January 12, severe rain or snowfall is possible in Himalayan states, including Jammu and Kashmir, and especially in Kashmir. Between January 11 and 14, Himachal and Uttarakhand may have rain or snowfall "he went on to say.