Winter to continue till month-end: IMD

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 17

After a late start, the winter is overstaying this year. The weather is expected to remain cool till the end of February. After seven western disturbances (WDs) this January — an unusual figure by all accounts as per expert s— and four more in the ongoing month to date, two more back-to-back WDs are expected to bring widespread rains and snow to plains and hills of the Northwest over the next five days.

Normally, the WDs start moving towards higher latitudes by January-end, but not this year. The IMD, which had predicted warmer winters (“below normal cold wave in cold wave zone”) this year, has linked long and penetrating chill during January to cold blasts from the Arctic region — the outcome of disruption of polar vortex.

Meteorologists say cold from the Arctic spilled southwards into Europe and further pushed weather systems, including WDs, southwards towards North India. The same is corroborated by an independent weather expert, Mahesh Palawat, who says the systems transmitted cold from South Europe to North India. The event that led to the freeze in Europe may be over but remnants of chill continue to affect the systems, he says.

According to the IMD’s statement, under the influence of the first WD, an induced cyclonic circulation will form tomorrow over West Rajasthan and neighbourhood.