New Delhi: The national capital is on track for a warmer-than-usual December, continuing the trend of above-normal winter temperatures observed this year. Weather experts attribute this to multiple western disturbances affecting northern India, which have not brought significant cooling to the region.
As per IMD director general M. Mohapatra, forecasts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) suggest that temperatures in northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, will remain above normal throughout December, as per an HT report. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be higher than usual, with shallow fog persisting during the period. However, dense fog, which typically lowers daytime temperatures, is unlikely due to insufficient moisture in the air.
For the first week of December, minimum temperatures in Delhi are predicted to remain around 10-11 degrees Celsius until December 6 before dipping slightly to approximately 9 degrees Celsius on December 7-8. Maximum temperatures are expected to hover near 25 degrees Celsius by December 8. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 10.4 degrees Celsius on Monday, a degree above normal but cooler than the 11.4 degrees Celsius recorded the previous day.
Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Meteorology explained that the lack of strong western disturbances in the coming weeks will likely result in normal to above-normal temperatures for December. He highlighted that colder days typically require dense fog, which is absent due to insufficient moisture, leading to only shallow fog spells. Significant nighttime cooling also depends on heavy snowfall in higher altitudes, which has been limited to regions like Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, with little impact on the lower reaches, as per reports.
Experts indicate that the absence of dense fog and inadequate snowfall in the northern regions are contributing to the warm conditions. Significant snowfall is necessary to facilitate a notable drop in temperatures in the plains. While a western disturbance is expected around December 8-10, it is unlikely to bring a substantial temperature decline.
Delhi's winter temperatures this year have been warmer than usual. The lowest minimum recorded so far was 9.5 degrees Celsius on November 29, slightly higher than similar records from previous years. Historical data shows that by late December, temperatures typically fall to 5 degrees Celsius or lower. For instance, December 2019 recorded a minimum of 2.4 degrees Celsius on December 28.
Rainfall has also been absent since September 19, with no precipitation recorded in November. IMD forecasts normal to below-normal rainfall for northwest India this month. Historically, Delhi receives an average of 8.1mm of rainfall in December.