Cold wave, dense fog leave north India shivering; schools in Jharkhand shut

Dense fog, cold wave and snow have gripped several parts of India, with temperatures in freezing point in some places and visibility dropping to zero in some, including Delhi-NCR where foggy conditions led to major disruptions to air, rail and road traffic movement this week.

Among the states and union territories hitting headlines for weather conditions lately is Delhi, which witnessed the season’s longest spell of dense fog between Friday and Saturday. Hundreds of flights, dozens of trains were affected as visibility reduced to zero.

Latest weather updates

Delhi fog: Low visibility conditions continued in Delhi for the third straight day on Sunday, even though situation significantly improved from what it was on January 2 and 3. “Compared to Saturday’s 9-hour zero visibility spell, Palam experienced a relatively shorter duration of 3.5 hours of zero visibility on Sunday,” news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

The maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 18.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, while the minimum was recorded at 9.4 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

For Monday, the weather office has predicted a generally cloudy sky with possibility of very light to light rain accompanied by thunderstorms in the morning hours.

Schools closed in Jharkhand: The Jharkhand government announced closure of schools from January 7-13 in view of a cold wave sweeping the eastern state. The suspension of classes will be applicable for all categories of schools, including government, aided, minority and private, in view of the prevailing cold wave conditions in the state.

Kashmir freezing: Most parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar, received a fresh spell of snowfall on Sunday as the mercury stayed close to the freezing point in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir for the second consecutive day.

Snowfall was witnessed in several areas of Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara districts in north Kashmir and some parts of Budgam and Ganderbal districts in central Kashmir in the morning, officials said.

The night temperature in the Valley dipped sharply, with Kokernag in south Kashmir freezing at minus 8.1 degrees Celsius, the coldest in the region. In Srinagar, the mercury settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.

While Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam shivered at minus 3.2 degrees Celsius.

Punjab, Haryana weather: Cold weather and foggy conditions continued at many places in Haryana and Punjab on Sunday, with latter’s Narnaul recording the lowest minimum temperature at 6.8 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, Karnal recorded a low of 8 degrees Celsius, Ambala 8.3 degrees Celsius, Hisar 8.8 degrees Celsius, Bhiwani 8.9 degrees Celsius, Gurugram 9.3 degrees Celsius and Rohtak 10.3 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department in Chandigarh.

In Punjab, the mercury settled at 7.4 degrees Celsius in Bathinda and 7.9 degrees Celsius in Amritsar, while Gurdaspur recorded a low of 8 degrees Celsius followed by Patiala (8.4 degrees), Faridkot (8.5 degrees), Ludhiana (8.6 degrees), and Pathankot (9.3 degrees).

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 8.4 degrees Celsius as the sun shone brightly in the city after days of cloudy and foggy weather.

Himachal Pradesh: Despite snow, Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla recorded its highest-ever maximum temperature in January, breaking the previous high set in 2006. On Friday, the prominent hill station town in Himachal Pradesh recorded a maximum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius — its highest January day temperature. The previous high of 21.4 degrees Celsius was recorded on January 30, 2006.

The weather office said Himachal Pradesh was expected to receive snow and rain on Sunday and Monday and it will continue in isolated areas of the middle and the higher hills on Tuesday.

According to the weather office, many places in the high and mid hill areas of the state will be receiving fresh snowfall and rainfall on January 5 and 6 while lower hills and plains will also receive rainfall during that period.

The high and mid hill areas will also receive snowfall and rain at isolated areas on January 7. Weather will remain clear throughout the state from January 8 onwards, news agency PTI quoted them as saying.

Schools in Bihar’s Patna closed: Bihar is in the grip of cold wave, with several places recording a mimimum temprature of 10 degrees Celsius or below, the Met office said on Sunday. Due to intense cold conditions in Patna, District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh on Sunday ordered all schools till class 8, private and government, including pre-schools, Anganwadi centres and coaching centres in the state capital to remain shut till January 11.

The district administration in Patna has had also made mandatory for all private and government schools (including pre-schools, anganwadi centres and coaching centres) to hold academic activities from 9 am to 4 pm between January 2 and 6.