Cold wave, dense fog set to intensify across India; IMD issues fresh alerts

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued fresh advisories warning of dense fog, cold wave conditions, and light rain or snowfall across several regions as winter intensifies. Temperatures are expected to fall further in the coming days. The IMD said cold wave conditions are very likely at isolated locations over Telangana and interior Karnataka on December 15.

Dense fog forecast

Dense fog is expected during morning hours in isolated pockets of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura between December 15 and 18. Similar foggy conditions are likely over Assam and Meghalaya, as well as west Uttar Pradesh, on December 15 and 16. Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi may also experience dense fog during this period. East Uttar Pradesh is expected to witness dense fog during morning hours on December 15 and 16, with very dense fog likely at isolated places on December 15.

Rain and snowfall outlook

Light rain or snowfall is forecast at isolated locations across the western Himalayan region, including Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, from December 14 to 18. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand may receive light rain or snowfall on December 14, while Arunachal Pradesh is likely to see similar conditions from December 15 to 17. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds of 30–40 kmph are very likely at isolated places over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on December 14 and 15.

Minimum temperature forecast

The IMD said minimum temperatures over northwest India are expected to rise gradually by around 2 degrees Celsius over the next 24 hours, with no major change thereafter. Maharashtra may see a gradual increase of 2–3 degrees Celsius over the next four days, followed by stable temperature conditions. Minimum temperatures across central India, as well as east and northeast India, are likely to remain largely unchanged over the next seven days.