IMD predicts cold weekend as northwest India braces for 3-5°C drop in temperatures

MInimum temperatures ar potential to come by 3-5 degrees anders celsius crosswise northwest India, including Delhi, over the next 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned on Friday after the upper reaches of the country received the season’s first heavy snowfall.Light to moderate rainfall and heavy snowfall were recorded at most places across Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, and at isolated locations in Uttarakhand, the IMD said.“There is likely to be a fall in minimum temperatures by 3-5°C over plains of northwest India, including Delhi, during the next 24 hours,” the IMD said in its bulletin.Between Thursday night and Friday morning, snowfall was recorded in Shimla, Manali, Keylong, Kufri, Bharmaur, Gulmarg, Kupwara, Pahalgam, Kukernag, Qazigund and Banihal, among other places. Snowfall was also reported for the first time this season in some parts of Uttarakhand.Northwest India has been witnessing one of its driest winters on record, with an 84.8% rainfall deficit in December and an 84% shortfall during the first 10 days of January, leaving hill regions largely snowless at the peak of winter. The IMD said this deficit is expected to reduce following the current spell of snowfall.Weather conditions are likely to improve significantly from Saturday. However, another intense western disturbance is expected to affect northwest India between January 26 and 28, bringing isolated heavy rainfall and snowfall over the western Himalayan region on January 27.Minimum temperatures ranged between 1°C and 4°C at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and between 5°C and 9°C at many locations in Uttar Pradesh. Isolated places in Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya also recorded low temperatures, while most other parts of the country saw minimum temperatures of 10°C and above. In the higher reaches of the western Himalayan region, temperatures remained below freezing point.The IMD said a well-marked low-pressure area lies over north Pakistan, with an associated cyclonic circulation extending up to upper tropospheric levels and tilting northwestwards with height. A trough linked to this system extends to the northeast Arabian Sea between lower and middle tropospheric levels. An upper air cyclonic circulation is also present over south interior Karnataka in the lower troposphere.The weather department has forecast no significant change in minimum temperatures over northwest India for the following two days after the initial dip, followed by a gradual rise of 2-4°C over the subsequent three days. Central India is likely to see a gradual fall of 2-4°C over the next three days, followed by a rise of 2-3°C thereafter, while Maharashtra may witness a drop of 2-3°C over the next 48 hours.