Rains to boost agriculture in northern region: Bikram Singh

Spells of rains will provide boost to agriculture in the region, said Bikram Singh, director of Indian Meterological Department (IMD) Dehradun.

"Major spells of rain have been received on December 11-12. Now, medium to low rainfall will be received. This system will prevail for next 24-48 hours. High altitudes will receive fresh snowfall today and tomorrow," said Singh.

Earlier, the Meteorological Department (MeT) has said that the western disturbance, in association with an induced cyclonic circulation, would bring snowfall and rainfall in northern India.

Heavy snowfall have been reported from the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms were also reported in the Northern plains, including Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The MeT department has also forecasted that minimum temperatures are very likely to fall significantly from December 13 onwards over north India.

Cold days and cold wave conditions are likely to prevail due to the active weather system, the department said.