Cold wave, dense fog blanket north India; IMD warns of travel impact

Cold wave and dense to very dense fog continue across north India, hitting visibility and daily life. The IMD has issued warnings for several states, flagging travel, health and power sector impacts

The cold wave and dense fog continued to grip large parts of northern India, disrupting daily life as visibility dropped sharply across several states. Cold weather conditions have persisted across Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, with dense fog briefly reducing visibility in parts of the national capital.

 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense to very dense fog across northern states till December 27, with foggy conditions also expected over Rajasthan and parts of the western Himalayan region in the coming days.

Dense fog and cold wave warnings

 

The IMD has forecast dense to very dense fog during night and morning hours very likely over isolated or a few places in:

• Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab till December 29
• Uttarakhand till December 28
• Madhya Pradesh till December 25

Dense fog conditions during night and morning hours are also very likely at some pockets over:

• Isolated pockets of the Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha till December 28
• Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Jharkhand till December 25
• Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh till December 24
• Northeast India till December 26
• Bihar during December 26–28

Weather forecast for December 24

 

As of December 24, dense to very dense fog is very likely at isolated places over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Dense fog conditions are also very likely at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Odisha, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, and Uttarakhand.

Rainfall and snowfall forecast

 

The IMD has forecast isolated light to moderate rainfall or snowfall very likely over:

• Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad during December 27–29
• Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on December 28 and 29
• Isolated thunderstorms with lightning are also likely over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on December 27 and 28

Minimum temperature outlook

 

According to the IMD, no significant change in minimum temperatures is expected over most parts of the country during the next seven days.

 

However, a gradual fall of two to three degrees Celsius is very likely over northwest India, Maharashtra and central India over the next two days, with no significant change thereafter for the subsequent five days.

Impact expected due to dense and very dense fog

 

The IMD has warned of likely impacts due to dense and very dense fog conditions over isolated or a few places in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab till December 29, Uttarakhand till December 28, and Madhya Pradesh till December 25. Foggy conditions are also expected over pockets of Bihar till December 25.

• Transport and aviation: Fog may affect some airports, highways and railway routes in the affected regions. Without adequate precautionary measures, fog could lead to road traffic collisions

• Power sector: Very dense fog may cause tripping of power lines in affected areas.

• Human health: Prolonged exposure to fog may lead to lung-related health issues, particularly for people with asthma and bronchitis, and may also cause eye irritation.