Don't Pack Up Woollens Yet: Mercury to Dip Further Over Weekend, Rain Adds to Northwest India's Woes

Intense cold conditions prevailing over Northwest India are expected to get more severe, with mercury set to plunge further over the weekend.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a fresh cold wave is likely to sweep Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi starting January 14, which also marks the start of festival season for the region with Lohri and Makar Sankranti.

The ongoing spell of rain/snow over the region is expected to exacerbate the cold conditions and temperatures are expected to fall by 3-5℃ during the next two days. No respite is expected at least till January 17.

Most parts of North-Western plains extending up to Bihar have been witnessing intense cold days. Temperatures have dropped to as low as 5.8℃ in Punjab, 6.7℃ in Haryana, 4.1℃ in Rajasthan while the lowest in Delhi was recorded at 6.4℃. Gorakhpur in East Uttar Pradesh saw the lowest minimum temperature for the plains at 3.6℃ on Thursday, which was nearly 5℃ below normal.

LIGHT SNOW/RAIN

In stark contrast from last year, the winter season has been mostly dry this time with very few active rain systems. However, a fresh western disturbance finally brought a spell of snowfall over most parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and a few places in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Thursday. According to IMD, the mountainous regions could see some more rain/snow activity on Friday as well, but it is expected to be very moderate.

Except for Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal, the rainfall is likely to be light to moderate over the rest of the region. It could drizzle in a few places over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Friday as well, which is set to bring down the mercury further. The weather is expected to be partly cloudy at least till Sunday.

A thick blanket of fog is most likely to cover the region over the next few days with the wind speeds dropping further. Most of the region has been experiencing cold days, with maximum temperatures 4-6℃ below normal. There is a strong likelihood of ground frost developing over some places.

“The weather would most likely remain dry over the plains, except for some light rain in some places in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi on Friday. But this would worsen the fog conditions, and there would be dense fog in the coming days. We have already issued a warning for the cold wave which is expected to continue,” IMD scientist Manmohan Singh told News18.

The latest forecast suggests the national capital would see temperatures sit around 21℃ during the day and 9-10℃ at night on Friday.​

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