New Delhi, December 26: Official forecaster IMD appears to have got it all wrong yet again. After predicting a “below normal cold wave in cold wave zone” earlier this month, it today said North India will see cold wave to severe cold wave conditions till the yearend, which will extend to other parts as well.
A December-3 statement by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast “above normal subdivision averaged seasonal minimum temperatures” during the cold weather season (December 2018 to February 2019) over all meteorological subdivisions of the country. “Below normal Cold Wave (CW) conditions are likely over core CW zone of the country,” it also said.
According to its latest update though, cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are prevailing over major parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, north Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Saurashtra and Kutch and isolated pockets over Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
This situation is very likely to continue over these regions during next three days, it further said, adding cold wave conditions are very likely to extend over to parts of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and north Maharashtra between December 28 and 30.
Temperatures, both day and night, are currently appreciably below normal at many places over many parts of North India, including Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Punjab.
This is not the first time that IMD’s prediction has been off the mark. The four-month monsoon season this year ended with nine per cent below average rain, less than what it had predicted earlier in the season. As per its 2018 forecast, India was supposed to get “normal” monsoon rain.
Meanwhile, as per the IMD, cold wave conditions are likely to continue over parts of northern plains and central India in the first week of the New Year as well, but with less severity. A fresh feeble western disturbance is likely to affect western Himalayan region from January 1. Dense fog will also continue over parts of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi during late night and morning hours of December 27, 29 and 30, it said.
Shivering Cities
Leh -17.1°C
Srinagar -6.7°C
Manali -3.4°C
Hisar -1°C
Solan -0.7°C
Amritsar 1.5°C
Ludhiana 2.4°C
Shimla 2.7°C
Jammu 3.5°C
Delhi 3.6°C
