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As 2026 approaches, large parts of north India are expected to remain engulfed by intense cold wave conditions and dense fog, severely impacting daily life and transport services. Several northern states are already shivering under biting cold and persistent fog, leading to widespread disruption across road, rail and air travel.
IMD issues dense fog and cold wave warnings
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to continue during night and morning hours over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and west Uttar Pradesh till January 1, while east Uttar Pradesh and Odisha may see similar conditions till January 2, 2026.
Dense fog is also likely at isolated pockets over Himachal Pradesh till December 31, Uttarakhand till January 4, and again over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and west Uttar Pradesh during January 1–6.Fog conditions are also expected over Madhya Pradesh till December 31, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim till January 3, Gangetic West Bengal during December 31–January 3, Bihar till January 5, Jharkhand till December 31, Odisha during January 2–4, and Assam and Meghalaya, along with Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura till January 4, 2026.
Cold day and severe cold day conditions forecast
Cold day conditions are very likely at isolated pockets over Himachal Pradesh on December 31 and January 1, Bihar during January 1–4, and east Uttar Pradesh on December 31.
In addition, cold wave conditions are very likely at isolated pockets of east Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh till December 31, west Rajasthan on January 2 and 3, Himachal Pradesh during December 31–January 3, and Telangana and north interior Karnataka till January 1, 2026.
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Rainfall and snowfall forecast across regions
The IMD has also predicted isolated to widespread heavy rainfall and snowfall over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad during December 31–January 1. Isolated to scattered light to moderate rainfall or snowfall is likely over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during December 31–January 2.
Further, isolated light to moderate rainfall is expected over Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on December 31 and January 1, and over west Rajasthan on December 31. The weather agency has also forecast isolated thunderstorms and lightning with gusty winds of 30–40 kmph over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during December 31–January 1, 2026.
Delhi reels under dense fog and toxic air
In the national capital, the IMD issued a yellow alert for dense fog, as Delhi woke up to heavy fog and toxic air on Wednesday morning. Visibility plummeted to near-zero levels across key locations, posing serious challenges for commuters and travellers. The IMD has warned residents of sharply reduced visibility and difficult travel conditions over the next few days.
Flights cancelled, diverted amid fog disruptions
Dense fog continued to severely disrupt flight operations across northern India this month. On Tuesday alone, over 180 flights were cancelled across the region, while hundreds more were delayed. About 200 flights were cancelled on Monday due to persistent fog.
At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, approximately 60 arrivals and 58 departures were cancelled, while 16 flights bound for Delhi were diverted to other cities as fog continued to hamper visibility.
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