Coldwave intensifies in Delhi;homeless flock to night shelters

Tuesday was recorded as the coldest December day in 22 years in the national capital. Delhiites woke up to a shivering morning on yet another overcast day with icy winds that followed Monday’s maximum temperature of 12.9 degrees C — a 16-year cold record. Mercury in Delhi didn’t rise beyond 12.2 degrees Celsius at the Safdarjung station, 10.3 degrees C below normal. The day conditions, meanwhile, on Tuesday were among the coldest the city has seen in December in the past 50 years or so, as heavy cloud cover enveloped most parts of north India, blocking sunlight from the entire region.

According to the met department, severe cold spell was likely to continue on Wednesday. ‘Due to strong, cold northwesterly winds from the Himalayas and a layer of low clouds stopping sunlight, similar conditions are likely to persist tomorrow,’ said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre.

A ‘cold day’ in IMD’s categorization is when the maximum temperature is 4.4 degrees below normal. A ‘severe cold day’ is when the maximum temperature is more than 6.4 degrees below normal.