Weather Update: A severe cold wave has tightened its grip on North India with heavy snowfall in the hilly states and lowering temperatures across the northern plains. The cold wave swept across the northern states, primarily affecting the national capital, which officially recorded its first "cold day" of the year as temperatures plummeted below the seasonal average.

Prompting this, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a cold wave alert for several regions of the north and central India. The weather department further predicted that the winter chill is likely to persist over the coming days, with a forecast of continued light rainfall or snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

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Cold Wave Conditions In Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh

In its latest bulletin, the Meteorological Department said that cold wave conditions are likely to prevail over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Odisha from January 7 to January 9. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh will also experience similar conditions this week.

Cold Day Conditions In Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar

Cold day conditions are likely to persist over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh on January 6 and 7. Similar cold day conditions will be experienced in Delhi, West Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh on January 7, while East Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Sikkim are set for a prolonged spell lasting from January 6 to 8. Cold day conditions are also expected in Jharkhand on January 7, with temperatures likely to drop below 10 degrees Celsius.

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Dense Fog Conditions In Punjab, Haryana

Adding to the intensifying cold wave, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense to very dense fog conditions during the morning hours over northwest, central, east and northeast India for the next five to seven days.

“Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail in the morning hours in some parts over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh during January 7-9 and Dense fog in isolated pockets for subsequent 4 days,” the IMD said.