IMD warns of cold wave for parts of south India; dense fog in north till Dec 17

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday warned of cold wave conditions over Telangana and interior Karnataka during the next two days. Dense fog conditions are likely to prevail in pockets of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and northeast Madhya Pradesh till December 17.

In the last 24 hours, temperatures dropped below 5°C at many places over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, and were in the range of 5°-10°C at many places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh, central Maharashtra, Assam, and Meghalaya also witnessed cold conditions as the mercury remained under 10 degrees Celsius.

"Gradual fall in minimum temperature likely by about 2°C over northwest India during the next three days and thereafter a rise by about 2°C during the subsequent four days," the weather office said in its daily bulletin. "No significant change in minimum temperature is very likely over Gujarat during the next three days and thereafter a rise by 2–3°C during the subsequent four days."

The IMD also warned of dense fog conditions in isolated pockets of northeast India, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and northeast Madhya Pradesh.

Snowfall in Kashmir

Several places in the higher reaches of the Kashmir region witnessed snowfall overnight, pushing temperatures above the freezing point for the first time this month. Snowfall was reported at Zojila Pass, Minamarg, and Baltal along the Srinagar–Drass axis in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Snowfall was also reported from Tulail in the Gurez valley of Bandipora. For the first time this December, Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of 2 degrees Celsius against minus 2.9 degrees Celsius on Friday night, up by nearly five notches. The night temperature was 3.2 degrees above normal for this time of the season.

Pulwama was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir, registering a low of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius. It was the only place where the minimum temperature was below the freezing point. A thick layer of fog engulfed Srinagar and most parts of the valley in the early hours of the day.

Qazigund and Kokernag in south Kashmir each recorded a low of 0.8 degrees Celsius, while the minimum in north Kashmir’s Kupwara settled at 1.2 degrees Celsius. In Gulmarg, the minimum temperature settled at 1.4 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam, one of the base camps for the Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, logged a low of 2.4 degrees Celsius.