2°C in Noida as NCR shivers on 4th consecutive ‘cold wave’ day

The intense chill, characterised by sharply cold winds, saw minimum temperatures plunge to 2 degrees Celsius in Gautam Budh Nagar, while Delhi and Gurugram hovered just above 3°C.

A biting cold continued to hold Delhi-NCR in its grip on Wednesday as the region recorded its fourth consecutive day of “cold wave” conditions, subjecting millions of residents to shivering conditions. The intense chill, characterised by sharply cold winds, saw minimum temperatures plunge to 2 degrees Celsius in Gautam Budh Nagar, while Delhi and Gurugram hovered just above 3°C.

The current four-day spell has been particularly harsh. (Sakib Ali/HT PHOTO)

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, Delhi’s base station at Safdarjung recorded a minimum of 3.8°C, which was 3.6 degrees below the seasonal normal. Gurugram registered 3.5°C, and Ghaziabad 4.8°C.

While daytime highs offered slight reprieve – hovering around 20°C in Delhi and Noida, while it was 18.4°C in Gurugram – the nights and early mornings remained brutally cold, with high humidity contributing to patches of dense early morning fog.

The current four-day spell has been particularly harsh. On Monday, Gurugram’s temperature fell to a near 50-year low of 0.6°C. Delhi followed on Tuesday with its coldest morning in three years at 3°C. In less urbanised pockets of Delhi and Gurugram, residents reported morning frost over several days – a rare phenomenon for the plains.

IMD classifies a “cold wave” when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and at least 4.5°C below normal, or when the actual minimum drops to 4°C or lower. “Multiple stations logged coldwave in Delhi on Wednesday as the minimum was 4°C or lower,” an IMD official confirmed.

Residents across NCR said the cold felt sharper despite clear skies during the day.

“There was no fog later in the morning, but the chill was biting, especially early on,” said Vivek Agarwal, a resident of Noida Sector 46. He noted that mornings have become increasingly harsh over the past week, disrupting routines and necessitating extra layers even for short commutes.

The brief morning fog, with visibility dropping to 200 meters in Delhi around 8 am, further complicated travel before sunshine broke through by 9am.

Weather scientists attribute the prolonged cold spell to a sustained flow of cold, dry northwesterly winds from the Himalayan region. However, a shift is on the horizon. IMD has issued a yellow alert for “cold wave” conditions on Thursday, but forecasts a gradual rise in minimum temperatures from Friday.

This expected moderation is linked to an approaching “feeble western disturbance.”

Mahesh Palawat, vice president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather, explained, “We are expecting cold wave conditions on Thursday as well, but from Friday onwards, the minimum should rise as we will no longer see cold northwesterly winds for a few days.”

Next week, a series of western disturbances are expected to affect the weather pattern further. The first is likely to reach the western Himalayas around January 16, potentially bringing fresh snowfall. A second, stronger system is forecast around January 19-20. “Together, these systems are expected to prolong snowfall and rainfall activity till the end of next week,” Palawat said. He added that the second system could even bring rain to the plains around January 22 or 23.

As these systems approach, the wind direction will shift from northwesterly to easterly. Easterly winds carry moisture but are significantly milder, which will help alleviate the intense cold wave conditions. IMD forecasts Delhi’s minimum temperature to rise to a range of 6-8°C on Friday and 8-10°C by Sunday.

Air quality, meanwhile, mostly remained “very poor” across NCR. On Wednesday, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed Greater Noida topping national pollution charts with an AQI of 357 (very poor), followed closely by Delhi at 353. Ghaziabad and Noida also remained in the ‘very poor’ category. Gurugram was slightly better but still in the ‘poor’ range with an AQI of 279.

Forecasts by the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System indicate that ‘very poor’ air quality is likely to persist in Delhi until at least January 23.