Cold wave to grip North India from Sunday; Delhi sees wettest December day in 101 years: IMD | India News
The India Meteorological Department on Sunday forecasts cold wave conditions across North India starting from Sunday, December 29, as per a statement released by the agency.
From December 29 to January 1, isolated cold wave conditions will affect Himachal Pradesh, while Punjab and Haryana will face similar conditions until January 3. Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and Rajasthan may also experience cold wave conditions on December 30 and 31.
Drop in temperatures: Northwest India will experience a 3-5°C reduction in minimum temperatures over two days, remaining stable afterwards. West and Central India will see a similar temperature decline over three days after 24 hours of stability. East India’s temperatures will remain constant for two days before dropping by 2-4°C.
Cold day warnings issued: Severe cold day conditions were observed in parts of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, with isolated areas expected to face similar conditions on Sunday. Cold day conditions are also predicted for Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh, and Rajasthan on December 29.
Delhi records wettest December in over a century: Delhi witnessed a historic downpour, with the highest single-day December rainfall in 101 years recorded at 41.2 mm in the past 24 hours until 8:30 am on Saturday.
“The 24-hour cumulative rainfall ending at 8.30 am today is the second-highest since 1901 at Safdarjung. The monthly rainfall is the fifth-highest. The 24-hour cumulative rainfall refers to the rainfall during the past 24 hours, ending at 8.30 am IST on the given date,” the IMD official said.
IMD officials noted that the last time Delhi saw such heavy rainfall in December was in 1923, with 75.7 mm recorded in a single day. December 2024 now ranks as the fifth-wettest December since records began in 1901.
The capital’s daytime temperatures remained below normal due to the rain, with the minimum temperature recorded at 12.7°C, six degrees above the seasonal average.
Dense fog ahead: Sunday’s forecast indicates very dense fog with temperatures ranging between 17 and 9 degrees Celsius in Delhi, while, Saturday recorded minimum temperature of 12.7 degrees Celsius, six degrees above average due to rainfall.
Air quality improves: Delhi’s air quality showed significant improvement due to the rain, with the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 135 in the ‘moderate’ category on Saturday. This is a sharp contrast to the ‘very poor’ category recorded on Friday.
Four monitoring stations – Aipur, IHBAS Dilshad Garden, Lodhi Road, and Sri Aurobindo Marg – recorded satisfactory AQI levels below 100.
Heavy snowfall disrupts life across Kashmir: Kashmir witnessed widespread snowfall starting Friday, with heavy to very heavy snowfall reported in the plains of south Kashmir. Central Kashmir received moderate snowfall, while the plains in north Kashmir experienced light to moderate snowfall, officials stated.
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed to traffic due to heavy snow accumulation, especially near the Navyug Tunnel, where clearance operations were hindered. Train services on the Banihal-Baramulla section were also suspended as tracks became inaccessible. Air traffic at Srinagar airport was severely disrupted, with flight operations completely suspended due to adverse weather conditions, airport authorities confirmed.
