Weather Update: Mercury falls due to snowfall and rain in Kashmir, fog outbreak in North India

New Delhi. In North India on Sunday, severe cold chilled people and at other places dense blanket of fog slowed down the pace. Due to snowfall in the highlands of North India and rain in the plains, the mercury dropped in Jammu and Kashmir, while the cold wave increased in Punjab and Haryana and visibility was affected due to fog in some parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and northeastern Himachal Pradesh and rain along with snow at some places till Monday. According to the IMD, Palam, one of the major weather monitoring centres, recorded visibility as low as 300 meters due to moderate fog between 10 pm on Saturday and 12:30 am on Sunday.

The IMD said visibility increased to 600 meters due to light fog but dropped again to 350 meters due to winds blowing from the east-southeast direction at a speed of seven kilometers per hour. According to the weather department, visibility dropped to a minimum of 200 meters due to moderate fog in Safdarjung between 1.30 am and 2.30 am.

According to IMD, it gradually increased to 500 meters by 5.30 am. The minimum temperature was 9.4 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees above normal, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 18.1 degrees Celsius. According to the Meteorological Department, humidity was recorded at 100 percent at 5:30 pm. A total of 97 flights were canceled and over 200 flights were delayed due to low visibility due to dense fog at Delhi airport on Sunday.

Aviation Authority of India officials told ‘PTI-Bhasha’ that at least 11 flights were also canceled at Srinagar International Airport due to bad weather. There was snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir and rain in the plains on Sunday. The onset of ‘Chilla-e-Kalan’, the harshest 40-day winter period in Kashmir, brought much relief to the people of the valley after a long dry spell.

Snowfall occurred in Gulmarg in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, where about two inches of snow has accumulated, officials said here. He said that snowfall started in Sonamarg located on the Srinagar-Kargil highway on Sunday morning, which was continuing till the last information was received. Sadhna Top, which connects Tangdhar sector near the Line of Control with the main Kashmir valley, has received moderate snowfall since Saturday night, resulting in accumulation of about six inches of snow.

Officials said light rain started overnight in Srinagar and other parts of the valley and continued intermittently. The Meteorological Department has predicted increase in snowfall and rain in the valley during the next 48 hours. The rains in Kashmir ended the long ongoing dry spell. Due to the dry period, there was an increase in cases of common diseases like cough and cold, especially among children and the elderly.

The rain and snowfall on the first day of Chilla-e-Kalan is considered an auspicious sign by the local people and is considered a harbinger of good snowfall. Last year, due to dry winter, local residents and people associated with tourism had to face serious problems. Gulmarg in North Kashmir was the only weather station where the mercury remained below zero.

The minimum temperature here was recorded at minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is five degrees more than the normal temperature for this time of the year. The minimum temperature at all other weather stations including Pahalgam in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district remained between 2.5 degrees to 3.8 degrees Celsius. The Meteorological Department has predicted moderate to heavy snowfall in the higher reaches and light to moderate rain in the plains.

The period of Chilla-e-Kalan (big cold) will end on January 30. After this there will be a period of ‘Chilla-e-Khurd’ (small cold) and ‘Chilla-e-Bachcha’ (mild cold). Moderate to heavy snowfall is expected at some places in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh. According to IMD, light to moderate rain is expected in these two districts as well as in Chamba.

IMD said that during the late night and morning hours of December 21 and 22, dense fog is expected at some places in Una, Bilaspur (Bhakhra Dam Reserve) and Mandi (Balh Valley) districts. There was severe cold in many areas of Punjab and Haryana on Sunday and dense fog was seen in many areas of both the states. According to the Meteorological Department, Narnaul was the coldest place in Haryana, where the mercury dropped to 5.2 degrees Celsius.

Whereas, Gurdaspur was the coldest place in Punjab, where the minimum temperature was recorded at 6.8 degrees Celsius. There was dense fog in many areas of both the states in the morning, due to which visibility was significantly reduced. According to the Meteorological Department, the minimum temperature in Chandigarh, the common capital of both the states, was recorded at 8.8 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was recorded at 6.5 degrees Celsius in Bhiwani, Haryana, 9.5 degrees in Ambala, 10.8 degrees in Rohtak and 10 degrees Celsius in Sirsa.

In Punjab, the minimum temperature was recorded at 11.8 degrees Celsius in Amritsar, 8.6 degrees in Ludhiana and Bathinda, 9.3 degrees in Patiala and 10 degrees Celsius in Faridkot. IMD said that there was very dense fog in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, due to which visibility was reduced to less than 50 meters.

The department also predicted that there will be dense to very dense fog in some areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh during night and morning hours till December 23. A slight rise in temperatures has been recorded in Rajasthan, although night temperatures still remain below 10 degrees Celsius at most places.

The Meteorological Department gave this information. After several days of severe cold, a rise in night temperature was recorded in the state due to the influence of western disturbance. According to the Meteorological Department, the minimum temperature in Fatehpur, Sikar was recorded at 8.9 degrees Celsius, which was 5.4 degrees Celsius on Friday.

The minimum temperature in Sikar was nine degrees Celsius, whereas it was 5.8 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The night temperature in Churu was recorded at 9.2 degrees Celsius, which was 7.6 degrees Celsius on Friday. The minimum temperature was recorded at 7.8 degrees Celsius in Chittorgarh and nine degrees Celsius in Pilani (Jhunjhunu).

The weather department said that the night temperature in Sirohi was 9.1 degrees Celsius, while it was recorded at 9.8 degrees Celsius in Anta in Baran district. The minimum temperature in the state capital Jaipur was 12.8 degrees Celsius, which is about two degrees higher than the previous night. According to the Meteorological Department, due to the effect of northern winds, the temperature may drop by two to three degrees Celsius from December 24.

Also, dense fog is likely over northern and western parts of the state on December 23 and 24. IMD has issued an alert on Sunday regarding cold and dense fog in some parts of Jharkhand. The minimum temperature has been recorded below 10 degrees Celsius in many districts of the state. According to IMD, ‘Yellow Alert’ regarding cold has been issued for Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra, Latehar and Lohardaga districts till 8.30 am on Monday.

Dense fog alert has been issued in a total of 15 districts including Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra, Hazaribagh, Koderma, Giridih, Deoghar, Ranchi, Ramgarh, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Khunti. Cold wave-like conditions were also recorded in six districts of the state, where the minimum temperature dropped below 10 degrees Celsius, IMD said in a bulletin. These districts include Gumla, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga and Ranchi.