Winter plays truant; tourism hit, rabi crop may be next

Peak winter across north India has been so freakishly warm and dry this year that, if the trend continues, many cities could be setting high temperature records by the time the season is over. In Delhi, for instance, January daytime temperatures so far have been the highest in at least 20 years.

Met officials say warm Europe and El Nino could be the reasons why winds coming into north India from the west are drier and more northerly than normal, and hence unable to impact the weather. The hills have so far not had a single heavy snowfall spell this season.

The freak weather, yet again, poses danger to the rabi crop, leaving farmers on tenterhooks.