North India shivers under thick fog, biting cold

New Delhi [India]: Fog enveloped many parts of North India including Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, among others, on Tuesday morning, causing disruptions to daily life and impacting visibility. 

Visibility in some parts of Uttar Pradesh was down to a mere 50 metres, while isolated pockets of Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana-Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha experience dense fog with visibility ranging from 50 to 200 metres, according to the Met Department. 

Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, witnessed dense fog in the morning hours with visibility dipping as low as 50 metres at 5:30 am today. 

“Fog conditions observed (at 0530 IST of today): Very Dense fog (visibility < 50 metre) in some parts of Uttar Pradesh; Dense fog (visibility 50-200 metre) in isolated pockets of Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana-Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha.” said Met Department. 

Maximum temperature that was recorded on January 8 in Delhi was 17.5 degree Cesius. The minimum temperature recorded at Safdarjung in the national capital on Tuesday was 7.9 degree Celsius while Lodhi Road recorded a minimum of 6.4 degree Celsius. 
Visuals from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh showed thick layer of fog early morning. 

“Visibility recorded (at 0530 hours IST of today) (in meters): Uttar Pradesh: Bareilly, Varanasi (Babatpur) & Gorakhpur-25 each; Jhansi, Lucknow & Varanasi-50 each, Sultanpur-500; Rajasthan: Jaisalmer-50, Churu & Kota -200 each, Jaipur-500; Bihar: Purnia-50, Gaya-200; Haryana-Chandigarh: Ambala and Chandigarh-200 each; Madhya Pradesh: Gwalior-200; Odisha: Chandbali-200.” IMD posted on X. 

Cities like Bareilly, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, and Jaipur in Rajasthan, are struggling with visibility less than 50 metres. Chandbali in Odisha and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh also face dense fog conditions, hampering morning activities. 

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued dense fog and cold wave warnings for the coming days. Dense to very dense fog is expected to persist in parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, north Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura. 

Cold day to severe-cold day conditions are likely to continue in some parts of Punjab on January 9 and abate thereafter. Similar conditions are expected in isolated pockets of Rajasthan on January 9 and 10, said IMD. 
Meanwhile, minimum temperatures were significantly above normal in most parts of Bihar, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim. In contrast, maximum temperatures were markedly above normal in Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad and Goa. However, Haryana and East Rajasthan witnessed significantly below-normal maximum temperatures. 

In the north, minimum temperatures in several states, like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal, are appreciably above normal, ranging from 3.1°C to 5.0°C higher than usual. This warmth, likely due to southward-moving westerlies, creates a hazy fog that engulfs the region, disrupting travel and daily life. 

Meanwhile, maximum temperatures in Konkan and Goa are soaring, with a few places recording temperatures 5.1°C or more above normal. Even states like Assam and Meghalaya are experiencing warmer than usual mornings. 
As per IMD, Northwest and Central India are likely to receive a fresh spell of rainfall with thunderstorms and hailstorms from January 8-10.