Cold wave and dense fog blanket north India; at least 129 flights cancelled at Delhi airport

Winter has tightened its grip across north India, disrupting daily life with dense fog, plunging temperatures and a string of weather alerts stretching from Delhi to the Himalayas.

In the national capital, Saturday marked the season’s first cold wave day.

Two of Delhi’s five monitoring stations, Safdarjung and Palam, met the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) cold wave criteria, with maximum temperatures dipping more than five degrees below normal.

Safdarjung recorded a high of 16.9 degrees Celsius, while Palam settled at 16.3 degrees. Morning visibility fell sharply. At 8.30 am, visibility at Safdarjung was down to 200 metres and 350 metres at Palam, improving only marginally by noon.

Shallow to moderate fog lingered across the city through the day, grounding flights and slowing traffic. At least 129 flights, 66 arrivals and 63 departures, were cancelled at Delhi airport due to dense fog, an official said.

The IMD has issued an orange alert for Delhi for Sunday, warning of dense to very dense fog. Air quality is expected to remain in the severe category on Sunday and Monday before easing slightly on Tuesday.

The Air Quality Early Warning System attributed the conditions to low wind speeds, below 10 km per hour, hindering pollutant dispersion.

Further north, Kashmir is bracing for a shift in weather as the region prepares for Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day harsh winter period that begins on December 21.

A day ahead of its onset, the local meteorological department forecast moderate to heavy snowfall in higher reaches.

“Chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent during this period, with temperatures dropping sharply across the valley,” officials said.

A wet spell is expected to coincide with the start of Chillai-Kalan, with light to moderate precipitation likely in the plains on December 20 and 21.

So far, the valley has seen a largely dry winter, a pattern that has contributed to a rise in coughs and common colds. Night temperatures showed slight improvement on Saturday. Pulwama was the coldest place at minus 3.2 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees, around two degrees higher than the previous night. A thick layer of fog enveloped Srinagar and nearby areas, especially around water bodies.

In south Kashmir, Pahalgam recorded minus 1 degree Celsius, while Kokernag and Qazigund logged 0.8 and minus 1 degrees, respectively.

Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at minus 0.7 degrees, and Gulmarg remained above freezing at 2 degrees Celsius.

Himachal Pradesh, meanwhile, continues to wait for meaningful winter precipitation. The local Met office issued a yellow warning for dense fog in parts of Bilaspur and Mandi districts, particularly around the Bhakra dam reservoir and the Balh valley.

Light rain and snow are expected at isolated places in higher and middle hills on Sunday, with a feeble western disturbance likely to affect the western Himalayan region from December 25.

Despite these forecasts, the state has received zero rainfall so far in December against a normal of 20.5 mm, a 100 per cent deficit across all 12 districts.

The dry spell, combined with a gradual rise in temperatures, has raised concerns among farmers and orchardists. Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti was the coldest at night, recording minus 5.7 degrees Celsius.

Uttar Pradesh remains under a red alert as dense to very dense fog and cold day conditions persist across large parts of the state. Visibility dropped below 50 metres at several locations, including Agra airport, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Bareilly and Jhansi.

According to the IMD, cold day conditions have been reported widely due to cold northerly winds, surface inversion and the influence of an anti-cyclone.

“A western disturbance over north India and the weakening of the tropical westerly jet stream have also contributed to the prevailing weather pattern,” the weather office said.

Dense fog is likely to continue during late night and early morning hours till December 22, while cold day to severe cold day conditions may persist in isolated pockets till December 24.

Districts expected to be affected include Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Bareilly, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida and Gorakhpur, among others.

Punjab and Haryana are also facing intense cold under a thick blanket of fog. Faridkot was Punjab’s coldest at 4.9 degrees Celsius. In Haryana, Jind recorded a low of 5.2 degrees. Chandigarh, the joint capital, logged a minimum of 11.3 degrees Celsius.

Rajasthan saw temperatures dip across several districts, with Fatehpur in Sikar recording the lowest at 5.4 degrees Celsius. Jaipur recorded 10.8 degrees, while Alwar, Karauli and Dausa hovered close to 6 degrees.

In eastern India, the IMD issued an orange alert for very dense fog in parts of Jharkhand for the next two days and a yellow alert till December 23. Early morning visibility in several districts is expected to drop below 50 metres.

“Light south-easterly to easterly winds are prevailing in the lower tropospheric levels over Jharkhand. Dense fog is likely to prevail in most parts of the northern and some central districts. This situation will continue until December 23,” Abhishek Anand, Deputy Director of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, said.

“No significant change in the minimum temperature is likely in the next five days,” he added.

Ranchi recorded the state’s lowest temperature at 6.4 degrees Celsius in the past 24 hours.

West Bengal, by contrast, is likely to see dry weather continue, with shallow fog at a few places and a gradual fall in minimum temperatures by about two degrees in the coming days. Kolkata recorded a minimum of 16.2 degrees Celsius, while Darjeeling logged 5.8 degrees.