 "IMD weather update: Dense fog to persist over northwest India, check update")
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning of heavy fog in the northwestern part of India. According to the weather department bulletin, the fog situation is likely to persist in the next three to four days. The fog has significantly reduced visibility and disrupted the travel.
Most parts in the north, include significant portions of Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Apart from these isolated pockets in Jammu and Kashmir, northwest Madhya Pradesh and northwest Rajasthan reporting the presence of dense fog.
There is also a likelihood of light isolated rainfall in the northwest part and central India from December 31, 2023, to January 2, 2024. Thereafter, Tamil Nadu anticipated to witness a fresh spell of light to moderate rainfall during the period from December 30, 2023, to January 2, 2024, which will provide relief to the region from dry weather conditions.
The official Twitter of IMD mentioned that "The Extension of Fog layer (grey coloured part) can be seen from Punjab to East Uttar Pradesh across Haryana-Delhi, West Uttar Pradesh, extreme north Rajasthan & north Madhya Pradesh during 15 UTC (2030 IST) of 27 Dec to 00 UTC (0530 IST) of 28 Dec."
Temperature drops
The sudden dip in the temperature across several regions in India is currently a milder winter ranging between 7-10 degrees Celsius in significant parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. In other areas such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Vidharbha and interior Odisha, the minimum temperature in the region is going to be slightly higher, fluctuating in the range of 11 degrees Celsius.
This deviation from normal winter temperatures is notable with some regions like Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat and northeast India, experiencing temperatures that are 2 to 3 per cent above the season average.
Intense cold wave continues in Kashmir
The impact of a dip in the temperature could be experienced in the Kashmir Valley, with the fog disrupting early morning for the third consecutive day, i.e., Wednesday. Srinagar has been surrounded by thick fog layers dropping the visibility in the city to less than 50 metres. Srinagar reported a minimum temperature of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius which was slightly higher as compared to the previous night's minus 3.0 degrees Celsius.