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IMD issues cold wave warning for parts of north and central India; Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan among those affected
In its bulletin, the weather department said cold wave conditions were very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Odisha from January 7 to January 9.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a cold wave warning for parts of north and central India.
The weather advisory comes even as parts of North and Himalayan states are already witnessing chilly days with temperatures dropping to fresh low in several areas.
In its bulletin, the weather department said cold wave conditions were very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Odisha from January 7 to January 9. Further, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh will also experience cold wave conditions this week.
The IMD said “cold day conditions” were likely over “Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh on January 6 and 7; Delhi, West Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on January 6; East Rajasthan, West Bengal & Sikkim during January 6 -8; Jharkhand on January 6, 2026.”
Apart from the cold wave, dense fog conditions are likely to continue during the morning hours over northwest, central, east and northeast India over the next 5-7 days.
“Dense to very dense fog conditions very likely to prevail in 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 in its bulletin.
In Jharkhand, where a cold wave alert has been issued, the mercury dropped below 10 degrees Celsius in 10 districts Tuesday, PTI news agency quoted officials as saying.
Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla and Chatra are among the districts in Jharkhand where a ‘yellow’ alert was issued, with cold wave conditions likely to prevail till January 7.
In nearby West Bengal, capital Kolkata recorded its coldest January day at 10.2 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD. The weather department forecast stated that the chill would intensify across southern West Bengal over the next couple of days.
Kolkata's minimum temperature in January had dropped below 11 degrees Celsius only once in the last 15 years in 2023, when it dipped to 10.9 degrees Celsius, according to official data cited by PTI.
