Northwest, central India’s minimum temperature likely to drop by 1 to 3 degrees over next 3 days: IMD

Cold wave conditions are likely to set in over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh on December 22

After a couple of days of respite from biting cold, minimum temperatures are again likely to fall by 1 to 3 degrees C over Northwest and Central India during the next three days, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its Tuesday bulletin. Cold wave conditions are likely to set in over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh on December 22, it added. Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions over the same region is expected on December 23 and 24.

Representational photo. (Ajay Aggarwal /HT PHOTO)

Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions is also likely over some pockets of Odisha, East Uttar Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana on December 22 and 23; over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar on December 22.

Cold day conditions are likely over some pockets of Bihar during the next three days and over East Uttar Pradesh during the next two days. Moderate to dense fog is likely in the morning hours at isolated pockets over Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi on December 23. Dense to very dense fog in the morning is expected in isolated pockets over the same region from December 24 to 26.

Dense fog is also likely over northern parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam, and Meghalaya during the next three days and over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during the next two days. Ground frost conditions are very likely over some pockets of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab during the next three days and over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, East Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan during the next two days.

“The cloud cover has moved away and the western disturbance [WD] has also passed. There are clear skies now. So, there will be radiational cooling. The minimum temperature is likely to be around 4 degree C in Delhi for the next two days. A mild western disturbance will affect the western Himalayas around December 24 but will have no impact on the plains. Another WD around December 26 is likely to bring light rain to Delhi on December 27. We are also expecting moderate to dense fog in Delhi and other parts of North-Western India for the next two days,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre. The minimum temperature in Delhi on Tuesday was 5.3, 3 degrees C below normal.