The wrath of cold is not showing signs of stopping. The entire Northeast India from Punjab to Delhi-NCR and Eastern Uttar Pradesh is in the grip of severe cold and dense fog. The Meteorological Department has issued red and orange alerts for Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and UP regarding cold and fog till January 23. During this period, the minimum temperature in Eastern India will remain between 2-10 degrees. It is bone-chilling cold in the hilly and plain areas. Road, rail, and air services have been disrupted due to dense fog.
Kanpur and Bikaner were the coldest in the plains on Friday with a minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius. Meteorological Department scientist Naresh Kumar said that due to the absence of western disturbance and El Nino, cold and dense fog conditions can last for five days. The minimum temperature in Punjab and Haryana also remained between 2-5 degrees.
-12.4 degrees mercury for the first time in Kukumseri
After snowfall in the mountains, many districts of Himachal Pradesh are in the grip of cold waves. There is a yellow alert of fog in the plains. For the first time in the season, the temperature in Kukumassery was recorded at minus 12.4 degrees. At the same time, snowfall is expected in Kashmir Valley next week.
220 flights, 68 trains affected
220 flights have been affected at IGI Airport due to fog. Seven flights were canceled and seven were diverted to Jaipur. Two dozen flights were delayed by more than five hours. 68 trains reaching Delhi were also affected by the fog. Banaras Vande Bharat Express had to be canceled. Bihar Sampark Kranti left at 10:30 am on Friday with a delay of 21:30 hours.
Western disturbance responsible for the chill in North India
The biggest reason for the severe cold and dense fog in North India is the non-activity of Western Disturbance (WD). Apart from this, El Nino and the jet stream are also responsible. These three factors have been considered mainly responsible by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Usually, western disturbances affect northwest India between December and January, but this year no such activity of western disturbances has been seen in winter. The result of this was that from December 2023 till now very little rain or snowfall was seen in the areas of the Western Himalayas. It was about 80 percent less than normal in the area. Similarly, from January till 17th there was almost no rainfall in the area.
According to the latest update issued by the Meteorological Department, there will be no respite from the havoc of cold and fog in North India. According to IMD, there will be a danger of severe cold waves in the plains of northwest India till January 21. Meanwhile, severe cold waves will continue to wreak havoc in Punjab and Haryana. Cold wave conditions will persist in different parts of Himachal Pradesh. Cold wave may prevail in North Rajasthan and Western UP on the 20th and 21st of January. Besides, there is a possibility of frost in Himachal and Uttarakhand. Similarly, there will be dense fog in entire North and Central India including Punjab, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. Severe cold, cold waves, and dense fog may continue till the end of January.
El Nino is also a big reason
According to the Meteorological Department, El Nino is also responsible somewhere as another factor. El Nino conditions over the equatorial Pacific Ocean are also responsible for the Western Disturbance not being active.
Things changed due to the jet stream...
IMD says that as a third factor, the role of the jet stream is also important for the current meteorological conditions. For the last five days, a powerful jet stream with a speed of 250 to 320 kilometers per hour has been running in North India at a height of about 12 kilometers above sea level. Due to the effect of these powerful winds, cold winds are blowing across North India, due to which the havoc of cold and cold waves is increasing.
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