Light rainfall in parts of Delhi on Wednesday intensified winter chill. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has anticipated a rise in rainfall in February, "exceeding 122% of the Long Period Average (LPA)," the weather office said.
LPA is the average rainfall recorded in a region over a specific time period.
"Another western disturbance is forecasted for February 2 which will bring potential changes in Delhi's weather," said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist and the head of the weather department.
The density of fog will reduce and noticeable changes in weather will be seen after February 4 and 5. However, dense fog during the morning and evening will remain the same, Srivastava said.
The drizzling improved the fog levels in the national capital. Earlier on Wednesday morning, a thick layer of fog had enveloped the city, hampering flight and train operations.
According to the MeT department, Delhi's main weather station Safdarjung observatory in January recorded its second lowest monthly average maximum temperature at 17.7 degrees Celsius in the last 74 years. The lowest average monthly maximum temperature was recorded in January 2003 at 17.6 degrees Celsius.
The average minimum temperature in the national capital during the same period was pegged at 6.2 degrees Celsius, the second lowest in 13 years, the data showed.
A total of 128 hours of "dense to very dense fog hours" — with visibility less than 200 metre — were recorded at IGI airport Delhi in the December-January period this winter season over a period of 20 days, which is the third highest in the last 10 years.
For January, there were 88 hours of dense to very dense fog over a period of 14 days, which is the second highest in the last 10 years.
Weather fluctuations are expected to continue till February 3 because of western disturbance with further changes anticipated from thereon, a senior official said.
