Spotlight on Cold Days Trend griping NW and Central India:

OMG! The days are getting really cold..yes…days temperatures in the NW plains and Northern regions of the sub-continent are lower than the day temperatures in the Kashmir Valley and Hills of Simla !

The humid N winds sweeping the Northern plains, and forming of ground fog due to a stagnant high pressure ridge sitting in the region (1016 mb), but evading the hills, are responsible for the cold biting days.

I have seen cold days in these regions before, but this spell is longer than the previous ones.

Unfortunately, this spell has taken its toll with almost 100 dead in India due to the cold.

On Sunday, 9^th. Jan,:

In Punjab, Gurdaspur (AWS) measured only 6.5c as the highest in the day, Patiala 7.4c,

Kaithal (AWS) in Haryana recorded a high of 6.5c and Karnal’s high was 7.4c on Sunday !!

The maximum and Minimum temperatures on Sunday:

Amritsar:8.0c (-11c) -2.2c, Chandigarh: 8.1c -0.6c, Ambala:8.3c (-12c) – 4.5c,

New Delhi S’Jung: 11c (-10c) – 5.0c. The AWS station at Delhi (Mungeshpur) reached a high of 8.8c on Sunday, and Delhi (Narela) could manage 8.9c as the high today.

The NCMRWF station at Noida recorded a max of 10.3c today (Sunday).

However, as mentioned, the hilly regions are in the “normal” range.

The lower Himalayas hill stations (all over 6000 ft ASL) were not much lower than the plains, in fact, higher in some cases in the day on Sunday

In H.P., Solan was coldest in the lower hills with minimum temperature of -1.0c C while Sundernagar, Bhuntar, Dharamsala, Mandi and Una recorded a low of 2.c, 3..0c C, 3.3c, 3.5c and 4.7crespectively

Srinagar: Maximum 9.5c, Dalhousie was 6.5c.

In the Utterakhand hills, Nainital was high at 11.6c and Mussoorie at 9.5c.

The nights are bitterly cold too;

On the 9^th. of Jan, the lowest temperatures in the plains were: :

Nal and Suratgarh : ­0.6c, Agra 0.6c, Sidhi 0.8c, Phalodi 1.0c.

Panna (AWS) in M.P. was the cold at 0.4c,

Ferozpur in Punjab froze at 1c and Faridkot touched 1.3c..

Across in the plains of Pakistan too, the day temperatures have taken a dip.

Sialkot touched a high of 8c and Multan was at 10c

Similar trend is seen in Pakistan, with Muree, a hill station at 6000 ft ASL also reaching a high of 10c.

The lowest in the plains of Pakistan, was in Sindh, with Sibbi again, freezing at -2.5c !!

Well, like I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, I surely see this easing up from the 13^th. In India and Pakistan.

With the pressure ridge dropping to 1010 mb initially, and thence to 1008 mb in the region, A fairly good W.D. is on the anvil, and is expected to precipitate rain/snow in Northern and NW regions of the Sub-Continent from the 13^th. of Jan. It would be peaking in precipitation on the 14^th.and 15^th.

The current easterly wave is very active over Sri Lanka and extreme south of India.

It will penetrate into the Southern tip of India from Monday, but weaken subsequently.

I expect rains in southern T.N. and Kerala for a couple of days.