Warmest November night in 5 years,winter will be here month-end

IMD officials,however,said the temperatures for the first 10 days of November have been near normal for this time of the year,give or take a degree or two. With the formal declaration of winter expected on November 28,officials said temperatures will dip significantly only after November 18.

“Today’s minimum temperature is only a one-off. Otherwise,the temperatures have been fairly normal. Also,from the weather pattern at present,it seems that the onset of winter will meet the normal November 28 date,” a senior official said.

The minimum temperature for Wednesday was recorded at 15.2 degrees Celsius,with the average for the 10 days being 15.2 degrees.

Officials said the perception that this has been an unusually warm November,has been aided by the lack of fog so far. IMD data shows that,on an average,fog sets in by November 7. In fact,in 2006 fog had set in on November 1. This year,however,there has been no significant drop in visibility so far,officials said.

“We register fog when visibility drops below the 1,000-metre mark,especially at the airport. That has not happened so far. So,it can seem like the winter conditions have not set in,even if the temperatures are normal,” an official said.

Officials said the reason for the absence of fog is the lack of rain in November and late October. “Suspended water droplets in the air cause fog. But,since there has been very little rain,there is only a minimal drop in visibility. However,we are expecting fog in about 10 days time,” an official said.

According to the figures,in the past five years there has been a steady rise in the amount of rainfall in November. While there was only 1.8 mm of rainfall recorded at Safdarjung in 2007,in 2010 the figure had gone up to 26 mm. This year,so far,no rainfall has been recorded in the month.