Cold Wave Intensifies Across Central and Eastern India; Dense Fog to Linger in North Until December 16

New Delhi, Dec 12 : A severe cold wave tightened its grip over central and eastern India on Thursday, with minimum temperatures plunging below 5°C in multiple states. Dense fog continued to blanket the northern plains, causing low visibility, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Adampur in Punjab recorded the lowest minimum temperature on the plains at 4°C.

Chilly Conditions Across the Country
Minimum temperatures fell below 5°C in parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and isolated pockets of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and western Madhya Pradesh. Large areas of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Odisha experienced temperatures ranging between 5°C and 10°C.

Significant departures from normal were observed in several regions. Telangana, Chhattisgarh, west Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha saw temperatures at least 5.1°C below normal, while Maharashtra, MP, Telangana, Gangetic West Bengal, and Assam & Meghalaya experienced temperatures 3.1–5.0°C below average.

Cold Wave Warnings Issued
The IMD issued cold wave alerts for December 12–13 over Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, West Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. Telangana and north interior Karnataka are expected to remain under cold wave conditions from December 12–14.

Dense Fog Alerts
Dense to very dense fog is likely in several regions during morning hours:

Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi: Dec 12–16

Assam & Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh: Dec 12–14

Odisha: Dec 12–13

Punjab: Dec 13–16

West Uttar Pradesh: Dec 12–13; East Uttar Pradesh: Dec 12–14

Visibility dropped below 50 meters in isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday morning.

Temperature Outlook
Northwest and central India are expected to see no major change in minimum temperatures over the next 24 hours, followed by a gradual rise of 2–4°C over four days due to an approaching western disturbance. Maharashtra will remain cold for the next two days before a slight warming trend. Most other regions are expected to maintain stable temperatures through the week.