Weather Update: Many states are in the grip of severe cold and dense fog, further drop in temperature from January 5 may increase the problem.

North-west and eastern India are in the grip of severe cold and dense fog. It is extremely cold from Jammu and Kashmir to Bihar and Punjab, from Haryana to eastern Uttar Pradesh. The mercury dropped to minus 7.5 degrees Celsius in Himachal's Kukumseri while it was minus 6.2 degrees in Pahalgam. Due to snowfall in the mountains, cold waves continued throughout the day on Tuesday in the national capital and surrounding areas. Despite the sun being out during the day, people remained shivering.

The minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to 8.3 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal but two degrees less than the day before. Fog in North India is adversely affecting traffic, especially rail operations, with most trains running late by hours.

Director General of India Meteorological Department (IMD) Dr. Mrityunjay Mohapatra said that the night temperature is expected to fall further between January 5 and 11. Due to its effect, the cold wave situation in Central India may become serious. Cold day conditions may arise due to low day temperatures in Madhya Pradesh, the northern part of Maharashtra, and the southern part of Uttar Pradesh.

Visibility is lowest in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

IMD said moderate to dense fog was observed over some other parts of North India including Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Due to fog late Tuesday evening, visibility was very low in many areas. Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh had the lowest visibility at 25. "Moderate to dense fog is observed over Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh adjoining East Rajasthan, central parts of Uttar Pradesh, South Assam, and Tripura," the IMD wrote in a post on Twitter.

Mercury below zero in most districts of Kashmir

All water sources including Dal Lake have frozen in Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir Valley is in the grip of severe cold due to heavy snowfall on the high peaks of the mountains. Due to fog in Jammu and Kashmir, rail and air services are continuously being affected. Even on Tuesday, many trains and flights reaching Jammu arrived late. According to Meteorological Center Srinagar, there may be rain and snowfall in some parts of the state on January 4 and 5. The weather patterns will remain changed on January 8 also.

Yellow alert of fog in plain districts of Himachal

A yellow alert has been issued in the plain districts of Himachal Pradesh including Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan, and Sirmaur till January 6. On January 8, there are chances of rain and snowfall in many areas of the central and high-hill districts of Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Mandi, Kullu, and Chamba.

Night temperature dropped in Punjab-Haryana and Rajasthan...

The scourge of winter continues in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Due to falling night temperatures, the minimum temperature in Bathinda, Punjab was recorded at seven degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Patiala was 7.8 degrees. The minimum temperature was 8.3 degrees Celsius in Amritsar, 8 degrees in Ludhiana, and 8.2 degrees in Faridkot.

2023 will be India's second hottest year

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the year 2023 was the second hottest year ever for India. Also, the department has predicted that there may be severe cold in most parts of the country in January. According to the IMD, the annual average land surface air temperature over India is 0.65 degrees Celsius above the long-term average for the period 1981 to 2010, slightly lower than the 0.71 degrees Celsius recorded in 2016. This measurement matches many indicators around the world. Such as sea surface temperatures, which showed that 2023 was one of the hottest years ever. The main reason for this was the effect of El Nino. The hottest year ever was 2016, which was also an El Nino year.

According to IMD, from January to March, there is a possibility of normal rainfall in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal and severe cold in January. There is a forecast.

More rain than normal...

Monthly rainfall is expected to be above normal in East Uttar Pradesh, West Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Uttarakhand during January. There is a possibility of rainfall of 122 percent of the long-period average (LPA). Cold wave days are likely to be below normal over most parts of central India during January.

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