Cold wave update: Trains cancelled, schools shut as Delhi, nearby states shiver; 10 points

Cold wave conditions gripped parts of north and northwest India as temperatures plunged in Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, and west Uttar Pradesh on Monday. In the past 24 hours, minimum temperatures were in the range of 3-7 degrees Celsius over many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh, and the adjoining northwest Madhya Pradesh.

Today morning, dense to very dense fog was observed in Rajasthan, Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand while the dense fog was witnessed in many pockets of Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Assam, Meghalaya, and Odisha. Also, cold waves to severe cold waves struck parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Delhi.    

Due to this weather pattern, schools have been shut in some districts and nearly 300 trains have been cancelled/diverted due to fog and other reasons.    

Here are the latest updates

- The Indian Railways has cancelled 282 trains, rescheduled 49, and diverted 26. Among the cancelled trains are 04383 Prayagraj Sangam-Jaunpur Jn, 04403 Swlhi Jn-Saharanpur, 04963 New Delhi-Panipat, 05155 Chhapra-Gorakhpur, and 06802 Coimbatore-Salem.

- Among the trains that have been diverted are 04444 New Delhi-Ghaziabad, 09452 Bhagalpur-Gandhidham, 12346 Guwahati-Howrah, and 12557 Muzaffarpur-Anand Vihar Terminal. Passengers can check the status of the rain by visiting the official website of railways - enquiry.indianrail.gov.in/mntes/.

- In Bihar, the Patna District Magistrate has ordered the closure of schools for students up to class 8 from December 26 to December 31.

- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) today said cold wave conditions are likely to continue for the next 2-3 days over Punjab and Haryana. The temperature may increase by 2 degrees over Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan and UP in the coming days.

- In Punjab, fog and cold wave conditions were witnessed in Amritsar as the minimum temperature was recorded at 6.5 degrees Celsius on Monday.  

- The Palam area in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 6.5 degrees Celsius while Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 5 degrees Celsius.

- Today, cold wave to severe cold wave conditions prevailed at isolated pockets over Rajasthan and cold wave conditions prevailed at isolated pockets over Haryana and Delhi.

-  The lowest minimum temperature of 0°C recorded was recorded in Rajasthan's Churu on Monday.

- Dense to very dense fog is very likely to continue over some parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and West Rajasthan during the next 48 hours. East Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh will also witness dense fog during the next 24 hours.

- Cold day to severe cold day conditions are very likely in some parts over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and West Rajasthan, and cold day conditions in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand on 26th and 27th December. 

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