Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Tuesday, 13 January 2026
An intense cold wave tightened its grip across large parts of north and eastern India, with subzero temperatures recorded in the plains and the India Meteorological Department issuing alerts for several states.
On January 12, many places in northwest India’s plains reported temperatures close to or below zero.
The outskirts of Gurugram recorded close to minus 1 degree Celsius, while Fatehpur Shekawati in Rajasthan dipped to minus 3.5 degrees Celsius on January 11.
Punjab and Haryana reeled under severe cold, with Chandigarh recording a minimum of 2.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, its lowest in nine years.
Freezing conditions swept across Punjab, where Ballowal Saunkhri recorded zero degrees Celsius.
Bathinda logged 1.6 degrees, Ludhiana 2.6 degrees, Patiala 3 degrees and Amritsar 4.1 degrees Celsius. Faridkot and Hoshiarpur recorded lows of 2 degrees and 2.6 degrees Celsius.
In Haryana, Hisar and Narnaul recorded minimums of 1.5 degrees and 1.8 degrees Celsius. Gurugram rose slightly to 3.3 degrees on Tuesday after recording 0.6 degrees a day earlier.
Delhi recorded its coldest January morning in three years, with Safdarjung logging a minimum of 3 degrees Celsius, 4.4 notches below normal, IMD data showed.
The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius, with cold wave conditions likely to persist on Wednesday.
Cold wave conditions were also reported in Jharkhand, where temperatures fell below 10 degrees Celsius in 13 districts. Gumla recorded the lowest at 2.3 degrees Celsius.
“North-westerly to northerly wind continues to prevail in the tropospheric level, causing the cold wave conditions,” said Abhishek Anand, deputy director of the meteorological centre in Ranchi.
On north India’s weather conditions, IMD Scientist Dr Naresh Kumar said, "In the coming 48 hours, temperatures are likely to remain the same. After that, a western disturbance is approaching. And what happens when a western disturbance arrives is that the wind direction changes, temperatures begin to rise, and that is what we are expecting."
