Relief from cold wave: Chandigarh's temperature rises to 22°C
City overtakes hill stations by day even as cold nights, dense fog linger
Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula witnessed a pleasant winter day on Saturday as the Sun continued to shine for the third straight day, pushing the maximum temperature in Chandigarh up by 2.5 degrees Celsius to settle at 22 degrees Celsius, which was a significant 3.8 degrees above normal.
The rise in day temperature brought much-needed relief to residents after several days of cold to severe cold wave conditions across the region.
In a rare winter contrast, Chandigarh’s daytime temperature not only remained higher than normal but also surpassed that of popular hill stations, which till a day earlier were warmer than the city. While Chandigarh touched 22 degrees Celsius, Shimla recorded a maximum of 18 degrees, Manali 14.4 degrees and Kufri 12.2 degrees, underlining the unusual warmth over the plains.
However, nights continued to tell a different story. Chandigarh’s minimum temperature stood at 6 degrees Celsius, rising marginally by 0.7 degree from the previous night but still remaining 1.4 degrees below normal.
The city remained colder at night than several hill stations, with Shimla recording a minimum of 8.4 degrees, Kufri 8.1 degrees and Manali 7.4 degrees Celsius. Srinagar, meanwhile, continued to reel under intense cold with a minimum of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius.
The Tricity woke up to a clear and bright sunny morning, lifting spirits and encouraging outdoor activity. By noon, cloud cover increased and the Sun played hide and seek, turning the sky partly cloudy but without affecting the overall warmth during the day. Relative humidity levels in Chandigarh ranged between 94 per cent and 39 per cent during the past 24 hours, reflecting moist morning conditions followed by a dry afternoon.
In the larger Punjab and Haryana region, Chandigarh emerged as one of the warmer places. Gurugram recorded the highest maximum temperature at 23.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Anandpur Sahib at 22.6 degrees, Bhakra Dam and Mansa at 22.2 degrees each, placing Chandigarh among the top warm locations in the region.
Despite the sunny spell, weather conditions over the past 24 hours were marked by shallow to very dense fog, mist, haze and instances of ground frost at several places, which disrupted road, rail and air traffic in parts of Punjab and Haryana. Dense to very dense fog was reported from many stations, particularly during night and early morning hours.
The Meteorological Centre has issued a yellow alert for dense fog at isolated places for the next four days till Wednesday, with weather likely to remain dry over the Tricity. There is, however, a possibility of scattered showers at isolated places on Thursday and Friday.
The forecast also indicates a rise in minimum temperature by about 2 degrees Celsius over the next 48 hours, with no major change during the subsequent three days and a further increase of 3 to 5 degrees thereafter.
Overall, while sunny days are providing welcome daytime comfort and pushing temperatures above those of hill stations, chilly nights, fog and haze continue to define winter conditions in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula.
