IMD alerts north Indian states for 'cold day'; dense fog expected

New Delhi, January 05: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a 'cold day' warning for several northern states in India, expecting temperatures to dip below 10 degrees Celsius. In their latest bulletin, the IMD anticipated dense to very dense fog persisting across the northwest region during nights and mornings for the next two days.

According to IMD data, minimum temperatures recorded on Friday morning ranged between 6-10°C across most parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, West Rajasthan, and specific areas in east Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh. IMD's alert on social media platforms stated, "Cold Day to Severe Cold Day conditions likely over some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Rajasthan for the next 2 days, decreasing thereafter."

The weather department forecasted dense fog in specific areas of east Uttar Pradesh from January 6 to 9. Additionally, foggy conditions were predicted from January 6 to 8 over west Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Odisha on January 6 and 7.

IMD also hinted at isolated light rainfall in northwest and central India between January 8 and 10. In IMD's classification, a 'cold day' occurs when the maximum temperature drops between 4.5-6.4 degrees below the seasonal norm. A more severe condition, termed a severe cold day, is marked when temperatures fall 6.5 degrees below the normal seasonal range.

Dense fog grips parts of Delhi; IMD forecasts visibility concerns

Parts of Delhi woke up to dense fog on Friday morning, accompanied by a minimum temperature settling at 9.4 degrees Celsius, based on the IMD's records. The meteorological department had earlier predicted the possibility of shallow to moderate fog and cold day conditions prevailing in certain areas of the city throughout the day.

Min temperatures recorded in various states today

In Delhi:
Palam - 10°C

Safdarjung - 9.4°C

Ridge - 9.1°C

Ayangar - 9.8°C

In Uttar Pradesh:
Meerut - 8.2°C

Bareilly - 10.5°C

Jhansi - 11.6°C

Lucknow - 12.0°C

Sultanpur - 11.6°C

Bahraich - 11.4°C

Gorakhpur - 11.9°C

Varanasi - 13.0°C

In Bihar:
Patna - 12.2°C

Darbhanga - 12.6°C

Purnea - 9.9°C

Gaya - 10.6°C

In Punjab:
Ludhiana - 6.6°C

Amritsar - 6.6°C

In Haryana and Chandigarh:
Chandigarh - 4.9°C

Ambala - 6.6°C

Hissar - 7.5°C

Karnal - 6.3°C

In Rajasthan:
Ganganagar - 6.8°C

Churu - 5.4°C

Bikaner - 2.8°C

Jaisalmer - 5.5°C

Jaipur - 7.4°C

Ajmer - 4.8°C

Udaipur - 6.8°C

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By 8:30 am, the Safardjung Observatory noted a minimum temperature of 9.4 degrees Celsius, slightly above the normal range by more than two notches. Simultaneously, the Ridge Observatory recorded a low of 9.1 degrees Celsius.

An orange alert has been issued for Delhi, signifying expectations of shallow to moderate fog and cold day conditions in specific zones. Palam reported visibility dropping to 50 meters at 8 am, indicating dense fog. Consequently, nearly 22 trains experienced delays due to poor visibility, as per reports quoted from railway officials by news agency PTI.

(Inputs from agencies)

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