Large parts of north India are likely to remain under dense to very dense fog over the next few days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
Foggy conditions are expected to persist during night and early morning hours across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and west Uttar Pradesh till December 31. East Uttar Pradesh may continue to witness poor visibility till January 1, with conditions gradually improving thereafter.
The IMD said isolated pockets of dense fog are also likely over east Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh till December 29. Similar conditions are expected across Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Meghalaya, along with Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Odisha till January 1.
Orange alert in Delhi
An orange alert has been issued for Delhi on December 29. The maximum temperature in the national capital is expected to hover around 22 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature may drop to about 7 degrees Celsius.
Cold wave warning
Cold day conditions are very likely in isolated areas of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on December 28 and 29, while Bihar may experience similar conditions on December 28. Cold wave conditions are also expected in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh on December 28 and 29, and in Jharkhand on December 28.
Meanwhile, a fresh western disturbance is likely to impact the western Himalayan region from December 30, with its influence extending to the adjoining plains from December 31 onwards.
Poor visibility across regions
Weather observations over the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on December 28 showed very dense fog in several parts of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, with visibility dropping below 50 metres at many places. Dense fog was also reported in isolated areas of Jammu division, west Madhya Pradesh and Assam.
Reduced visibility was recorded in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Odisha, Bihar and several northeastern states.
Cities such as Amritsar, Pathankot, Agra, Prayagraj and Gwalior witnessed near-zero visibility at times. In Delhi’s Safdarjung area, visibility dropped to around 100 metres during the morning hours.
Cold day to severe cold day conditions were observed in isolated parts of Uttar Pradesh, while parts of Uttarakhand and Bihar also reported cold day conditions. Cold wave conditions were recorded in isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Rain and snowfall forecast
The IMD said light to moderate rainfall and snowfall is likely over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad between December 30 and January 2. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand may also receive isolated rainfall or snowfall during the same period.
Light rainfall is expected in parts of Punjab, Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan between December 31 and January 1.
Thunderstorms over Andaman and Nicobar
Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds are likely over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from December 28 to January 1. Isolated heavy rainfall is expected on December 28.
Temperature outlook
Minimum temperatures over the past 24 hours dipped below 5 degrees Celsius in several parts of the western Himalayan region. Hisar in Haryana recorded the lowest minimum temperature over the plains at 2.5 degrees Celsius.
The weather department said minimum temperatures are not likely to see any major change over northwest, central and east India during the next 24 hours, followed by a gradual rise thereafter.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the South Andaman Sea on December 28 due to unfavourable weather conditions.