Many parts of north India could see severe cold conditions and dense fog over the next few days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said cold day to severe cold day conditions are very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan during the next two days and over east Uttar Pradesh during the next three days. It also predicted dense to very dense fog over parts of northwest India till 19 January.
Meanwhile, various regions of north India on Sunday witnessed foggy conditions that reduced visibility in parts of the city in the early hours of the day.
"A fresh western disturbance likely to affect Western Himalayan region from January 18. Another western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from January 21," the IMD said.
In a post from its official handle on Twitter, the IMD warned of isolated to scattered rains and snowfall in several areas and also a very dense fog cover over others, most of these regions being in northwest India.
The IMD has warned of very dense fog over Rajasthan and east Uttar Pradesh during next two days and dense fog in Jammu division and Himachal Pradesh today and tomorrow (Sunday and Monday), and over west Uttar Pradesh and north Madhya Pradesh during next two days.
In southern India, the IMD has predicted light to moderate rainfall over Telangana on January 16; over coastal Andhra Pradesh on January 16 and 17 and over Tamil Nadu, Kerala during next three days. Rainfall is also predicted over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during on January 19 ad 20. In northern part, rain is likely in Himachal and Uttarakhand till January 20.
Cold weather conditions prevailed in many parts of Punjab and Haryana on Sunday with Chandigarh, the common Capital of the two States, recording a low of 8.2 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperatures in the two States have also registered a sharp fall and have been hovering in the range of 11 degrees Celsius to 14 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Gurdaspur recorded a minimum temperature of 5.6 degrees Celsius while Bathinda saw the mercury settle at 6.2 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department.
Patiala experienced a cold night at 7.5 degrees Celsius. Jalandhar recorded a low of 8.6 degrees while Moga registered a low of 6.3 degrees Celsius. Ludhiana's minimum settled at 8.7 degrees Celsius while Amritsar recorded a low of 8.4 degrees. Hisar in Haryana reeled under intense cold, recording a minimum temperature of 6.8 degrees while Ambala recorded a low of 7.7 degrees Celsius. Sirsa also experienced a cold night recording a low of 6.1 degrees Celsius while Gurgaon's minimum settled at 7.2 degrees.
Meanwhile, there was some respite from the intense cold wave conditions in Kashmir as the minimum temperature improved by several degrees. The night temperature at most places in the valley on Saturday night was above normal for this part of the season.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar, the summer Capital of Jammu and Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius - over three degrees up from the previous night's minus 4.5 degrees Celsius. Gulmarg, the famous skiing resort in the Baramulla district of north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 7 degrees Celsius, up 2.5 degrees from the previous night.
Pahalgam in south Kashmir Anantnag district, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, six degrees up from the previous night
Kashmir valley is currently under the grip of the 40-day harshest winter period known as "Chilla-i-Kalan" which began on December 21 last year. The "Chilla-i-Kalan" will end on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long "Chillai-Khurd" (small cold) and a 10-day-long "Chillai-Bachha" (baby cold).
