Weather today: Rain, snowfall likely across north India on New Year Day

Rain and snowfall are forecast across north India on January 1, while dense fog and cold wave conditions persist, disrupting visibility, temperatures and flight operations, especially in Delhi

As the country rings in the New Year, biting cold, chilly winds and dense fog are set to continue gripping large parts of North India, significantly reducing visibility. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast rainfall across much of the region on January 1, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

 

The winter showers are expected to further lower temperatures across these regions.

 

Light rainfall is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall and snowfall are very likely over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

 

Dense fog to persist; visibility to remain poor in several states

 

Apart from rainfall, the IMD has warned that foggy conditions will continue during night and morning hours over Odisha, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi till January 5; east Uttar Pradesh till January 2; and west Rajasthan till January 3.

 

 

Dense fog is also likely at isolated pockets over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad and Jharkhand till January 2. Similar conditions are expected over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya, and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura till January 5.

 

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi may witness dense fog till January 7, while west Rajasthan till January 4 and east Rajasthan between January 2 and 4. Dense fog is also likely over Madhya Pradesh till January 1 and again on January 4 and 5, and over Gangetic West Bengal till January 3.

 

Cold wave conditions likely in parts of north and central India

 

Cold wave conditions are very likely to prevail in isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh from January 2 to 4, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi between January 3 and 5, Rajasthan on January 5 and 6, and Telangana on January 1, 2026.

 

Delhi weather today: Rain, fog and cold day conditions

 

For today, the IMD has forecast a generally cloudy sky over Delhi, with a possibility of very light to light rain at isolated places. Moderate fog is expected at many locations, with dense fog at isolated pockets during morning hours. Cold day conditions may prevail at isolated places, prompting the IMD to issue a yellow alert for the national capital.

 

Minimum temperatures in Delhi are likely to stay between 9 and 11 degrees Celsius, while maximum temperatures may hover around 14 to 16 degrees Celsius.

 

Flight operations hit as dense fog disrupts Delhi airport

 

Severe fog and extremely low visibility led to widespread disruption at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Wednesday, with nearly 100 flights cancelled and several others delayed.

 

Earlier in the day, Delhi airport issued a passenger advisory, cautioning travellers about possible delays and cancellations as flight operations were shifted to CAT III protocols. These procedures are used during extremely low visibility and allow aircraft equipped with advanced systems to land safely.

 

Several airlines, including Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, also issued travel advisories warning passengers of flight delays and cancellations due to foggy conditions and adverse weather.