New Delhi: Cold wave continued to grip north India on Tuesday (December 20, 2022) with dense to very dense fog engulfing the Indo-Gangetic plains including Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. 


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The foggy weather also lowered visibility to 50 metres in several states and affected road traffic and train movement. 


The cold wave conditions are likely to continue as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a further drop in the minimum temperature over the next couple of days. 


Delhi's minimum temperature to drop


Delhi's minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to drop to five degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius in the next few days.


Due to moisture and light winds at lower tropospheric levels over Indo-Gangetic plains, the dense fog is also expected to continue in the national capital for the next few days.



(Fog engulfs India Gate amid dense fog on a cold winter morning, in New Delhi on Tuesday. ANI Photo)


Earlier on Tuesday, the Safdarjung Observatory, which is the primary weather station in Delhi, recorded a minimum temperature of 6.3 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. 


Haryana to record colder days ahead


The weather department has said that cold wave to severe cold wave conditions is likely at isolated places in Haryana while dense to very dense fog is also expected at most places over the next 4-5 days.


In Haryana, cold weather conditions on Tuesday prevailed in Narnaul, which recorded a low of 4.5 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature in Hisar settled at 6 degrees Celsius.


Severe cold wave conditions over Punjab till December 25


In Punjab, the IMD has predicted severe cold wave conditions till December 25. Dense to very dense fog is also "very likely" over Punjab for the next two days, the weather department said.


Earlier on Tuesday, Bathinda was the coldest place in Punjab with the mercury settling at a low of 3.4 degrees Celsius. Amritsar also experienced a cold night with a low of 6.8 degrees Celsius.



(Policemen sit around a fire to stay warm during a cold winter morning, in Jalandhar on Tuesday. ANI Photo)


Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded a low of 7.6 degrees Celsius.


Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced that all schools in the state will open at 10 am from December 21 till January 21 due to foggy weather.


Kashmir to witness snowfall around Christmas


For Jammu and Kashmir, the meteorological department has forecast colder nights over the next couple of days as further fall in the minimum temperature is expected. There is also a possibility of rain or light snowfall in some parts of Kashmir around Christmas.


On Tuesday, cold waves across Kashmir intensified as the temperatures fell several degrees below the freezing point, a day ahead of 'Chilla-i-Kalan', the 40-day harshest winter period.


The minimum temperature in Srinagar recorded last night was minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district recorded a low of minus 4.0 degrees Celsius.

(A vehicle plying on the snow-bound Lal Ghulam Bridge on Mughal Road that connects Shopian district in South Kashmir to Poonch district, in Rajouri. ANI Photo)


The 'Chilla-i-Kalan' is the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies, including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.


'Chillai-Kalan' begins on December 21 and ends on January 30. The cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).


Cold wave conditions also likely over Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan


Due to dry north/northwesterly winds from the Himalayas over the plains of northwest India, cold wave conditions are also likely to continue over Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan during the next few days. 


Dense to very dense fog conditions are expected over Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh in the next two days and decrease in intensity thereafter.