The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'cold day' warning for several states in northern India, signalling temperatures expected to dip below 10 degrees Celsius. The latest bulletin from the weather department anticipates dense to very dense fog persisting during nights and mornings across the northwest region for the next two days.
As per IMD data, the minimum temperatures recorded at 8.30 am on Friday over the past 24 hours ranged between 6-10°C across most parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, West Rajasthan, and certain areas in East Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh. The IMD, on its official communication platform (formerly Twitter), mentioned that "Cold Day to Severe Cold Day conditions are likely to continue over some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Rajasthan during the next 2 days and significantly decrease thereafter."
The weather department further highlighted the likelihood of dense fog in the mornings in specific areas of East Uttar Pradesh from January 6 to 9. Additionally, over West Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura, foggy conditions are expected from January 6 to 8. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Odisha may experience this fog on January 6 and 7. The IMD also indicated the possibility of isolated light rainfall in northwest and central India between January 8 and 10.
In terms of categorization, a 'cold day' is acknowledged if the maximum temperature drops between 4.5-6.4 degrees below the seasonal norm. If temperatures fall 6.5 degrees below the normal range for the season, it is labelled a severely cold day.
Parts of Delhi experienced dense fog on Friday morning, with the minimum temperature settling at 9.4 degrees Celsius. The Safdarjung Observatory registered a minimum temperature slightly above the normal range, while the Ridge Observatory recorded a low of 9.1 degrees Celsius.
Authorities have issued an orange alert for Delhi, anticipating shallow to moderate fog and cold day conditions in select areas. Palam recorded a visibility of 50 meters, indicating dense fog, at 8 am. Poor visibility led to delays in around 22 trains, according to reports citing railway officials.
Read Also| Delhi Fog Alert: Several Trains, Flights Delayed Due to Low Visibility, Check Full List Here