GURGAON: Shallow fog was reported in parts of the city on Saturday morning, with temperatures falling from the previous day. The minimum temperature dropped to 13.1 degrees Celsius from 16.3 degrees Celsius, making the morning cooler. At the NorthCap University monitoring station, the minimum temperature declined to 14.9 degrees Celsius from 17 degrees Celsius a day earlier.Clear skies returned later in the day, reducing haze and leading to warmer conditions. While the maximum temperature was not available from the Gurgaon KVK station, observations from NorthCap University recorded a daytime temperature of 28.1 degrees Celsius, up from 22.5 degrees Celsius the previous day.A weather expert said the fog developed due to increased moisture near the surface after recent rain, combined with overnight cooling and calm wind conditions. So far this month, the city has received 12mm of rainfall, about 40% above the normal of 8mm.Skymet India’s vice president Mahesh Palawat said the recent rain increased moisture levels near the surface. “With overnight cooling under relatively calm wind conditions, this moisture condensed to form fog in the lower levels of the atmosphere,” he said, adding that the fog is not expected to persist as temperatures rise gradually and sunlight increases during the day.At present, a western disturbance is influencing weather patterns, seen as a trough extending from north Haryana to north Chhattisgarh across Uttar Pradesh and east Madhya Pradesh. An upper air cyclonic circulation also persists over southwest Rajasthan and adjoining Pakistan at lower levels. Another weak western disturbance is likely to approach northwest India around March 26.According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to moderate rainfall is likely at isolated places in the state on March 22, 23, 26 and 27. On Sunday, districts such as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar and Bhiwani may receive rainfall. The activity is expected to extend to areas including Charkhi Dadri, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Jhajjar, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mewat and Palwal on Monday.The maximum temperature is expected to rise by 5 to 7 degrees Celsius over the next four days. The increase will be gradual, with intermittent cloud cover likely to prevent any sharp rise in daytime temperatures.For Sunday, the forecast is for mostly clear skies, with minimum and maximum temperatures likely to be around 13 and 27 degrees Celsius respectively.
