The temperature in Delhi and other northern parts of India has soared in last few days
After continuous cold conditions experienced all through December, January and early February, New Delhi has reported a sharp shift in temperatures in the last 5-10 days. It has triggered apprehensions that the winter is going and the summers are arriving early.
Weather in North India in 2021
It’s not just New Delhi that has seen high temperatures in the last week, but the whole north India is experiencing it. Cold conditions have dominated both the hilly and planes areas this year. Still, the average monthly minimum temperature in January remained the lowest in 62 years across the country. Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir experienced prolonged severe cold conditions. New Delhi and neighbouring areas also reported sporadic rainfall in the first week of January 2021.
However, not many cold day conditions were recorded during this winter, unlike the winters of 2020. There were fewer western disturbances across low latitudes. Experts have said that the effects of western disturbances were limited to mostly hilly areas in January.
Why temperature has started rising suddenly?
In the absence of cold day conditions and cold waves across the plains of north India, temperatures began to go up. Delhi, Dehradun, and several other locations in both the hills and plains recorded significantly more than usual day temperature this year.
New Delhi recorded 30.4 degrees Celsius on February 11, which was 7.7 degrees above normal.
RK Jenamani, a scientist at the National Weather Forecasting Centre in New Delhi said that the presence of multiple weather systems over Central India and dominance of the prevailing easterly waves are preventing the cold waves from reaching the northern part of the country. This is the reason behind a sudden rise of temperature in northern India, 5 to 6 degrees normal than usual at this time.
Read more: Uttarakhand Glacier Burst: The Thawing Mountains Of The Himalayas?
Image source – Livemint
Will these weather systems affect cold conditions?
A thunderstorm is expected for the next few days in northern India till February 19 due to the presence of multiple weather systems and their conflux with moist easterly winds expected in Central India.
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, along with parts of South Interior Karnataka, Vidarbha, Jharkhand, Marathwada, and Odisha will experience light intensity rainfall along with lightning. We could see hailstorms in few parts of Maharashtra in the next two to three days. As a result, no significant cold conditions would stay in the country except Jammu and Kashmir till February 20.
Is winter done for this season?
After reading all these, a question can come to our mind that if the winter is done for this season. Indian Meteorological Department identifies January and February as winter months in the country. If IMD officials are to believed, then the winters are not over despite the temperature remaining on the higher side till February 2020.
We can expect a fresh western disturbance in north India on February 20. This disturbance will bring snowfall or rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir. Once the disturbance passes, Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Punjab areas can experience a temperature decline of around 2 to 3 degrees starting February 22 onwards. The disturbance is not expected to create a cold spell, but give respite from the current warm conditions.
The seasonal transition would start soon as the winter season is nearing its end for this season. A gradual rise in minimum temperatures by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius over Northwest and North India is expected after February 25. The day temperature is also expected to go up in the coming days and remain between 22 to 30 degrees, except Shimla, Jammu and Kashmir, and other places of higher altitudes.
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