IMD: Cold conditions to prevail in North India for next 24 hours

Most of  North India is expected to be under the grip of severe cold waves leading to a drastic drop in both day and night temperatures. For the next 24 hours, the Indian Meteorological Department has issued severe cold day conditions in isolated areas in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, West Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim. Severe cold conditions can persist in these regions due to low-lying clouds and cold north-northwesterly winds. 

The Met Office in Chandigarh has told agencies that several areas in the plains of north India like Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, and Ambala are expected to have more chilly weather than hilly tourist attractions like Shimla and Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.

Chandigarh has recorded a maximum temperature of 11 degrees Celcius⁠, which is 10 degrees below its average. Amritsar and Ludhiana in Punjab and Ambala in Haryana recorded maximum temperatures of 11.5 degrees Celcius, 14.2 degrees Celcius and 13.8 degrees Celcius during the day respectively.

Other North Indian cities to record big temperatures were Pantnagar in Uttarakhand with -9.8 degrees Celcius, Bathinda, Punjab with -10.7 degrees Celcius and Karnal, Haryana with -10 degrees Celcius.

Manmohan Singh, Director at Shimla’s Met Office told agencies that the reason behind Himachal Pradesh experiencing unusually high temperatures during the day may be due to shallow fog in the plains.

Also Read | Cold Wave Intensifies In The National Capital

The layer of fog has covered a large part of Northwest India, resulting in zero visibility over North Rajasthan and the adjoining Punjab area. Skymet Weather has stated that visibility in Punjab and Haryana was recorded to be at 100 to 200 meters in major areas as per today, December 19.

Also Read | Himachal Pradesh: Cold Wave Intensifies In Shimla

Whereas Amritsar saw less than 300 meters of visibility. Patiala and Hisar have observed moderate to dense fog, with the visibility dropping to less than 200 meters.

Also Read | Surprise Hailstorm Hits Unlikeliest States; Check These Pictures To Believe

Also Read | J&K: Incessant Rains And Cold Weather Affects People In Poonch

(With Inputs from ANI)