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India is experiencing a warmer winter

Persistent above normal temperatures have been recorded in many regions of the country
After the monsoon, it’s the winter season which has played truant with India. More than half of the winter season has passed, but the characteristic chill felt in many parts is missing due to persistent above normal temperatures.
Palam in New Delhi witnessed a maximum temperature of 25.7°C on January 12, 2016, which was 6°C above normal. Minimum temperature in this region on the morning of January 13 was 13.9°C, 7°C above normal. Srinagar, which is in the middle of Chilai Kalan (40-day harsh winter period), witnessed minimum temperature of -2.5°C on January 13, which is still 5°C above normal. Most places in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha in Maharashtra witnessed maximum temperatures which were 2-5°C above normal on January 12. 
This warm weather might be good news for those who don’t like the winter, but such weather and temperature fluctuations adversely impact the growth of winter crops. Apples of Himachal Pradesh and strawberries of Maharashtra have been affected by the warm and dry weather.
Generally, during winter, temperatures often fluctuate but never stay above or below normal for extended periods. This means that a few days during winter may not experience cold conditions. People living in northern Indian states observe this rise in temperatures whenever the weather turns cloudy due to arrival of a western disturbance. But once the western disturbance passes, temperatures return to normal or many times fall below normal. 
But this winter season (October 2015 onwards), the number of such warm days appears to be high. More importantly, anomalies in the maximum temperatures have been higher than those in the minimum temperatures. This means the days have been quite warm. This weather data will give us an idea of how warm the winter has been.
October to December maximum temperature departure from normal (Image Credit: World Ag Weather)
October to December minimum temperature departures from normal (Image credit: World Ag Weather)
December maximum temperature departure from normal (Image credit: World Ag Weather)
December minimum temperature departure from normal (Image credit: World Ag Weather)
Normal v anomalous wind pattern at 5,000 feet above ground (Credit: NCEP)

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