Here is the state wise updates on Cold wave conditions in India
Delhi: The Meteorological (MeT) Department had on Wednesday issued an orange alert for Delhi-NCR for Thursday and Friday. As per IMD's latest updates, on Friday, Ayanagar in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 1.8 degree celsius while Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 4.0 degree celsius and Delhi Ridge recorded 3.3 degree celsius. Due to the weather conditions, eight flight departures were delayed. "An Air India, Melbourne-bound, flight delayed by around 2:25 hours and rescheduled to depart at 16:45 hours," New Delhi Airport's live flight information said as reported by ANI. "Dubai bound flight was rescheduled to 10:50 hours from 9:00 hours, Jeddah bound flight from 10:25 hours to 13:10 hours, SpiceJet flight, Dubai-bound, also rescheduled to 8:29 hours from 7:30 hours, Air India Flight, flying down to Kathmandu was delayed by 1:02 hours, Warsaw bound flight by 1:45 hours, Istanbul bound flight rescheduled to 7:38 hours from 6:55 hours, Dhaka bound flight from 6:30 hours to 7:31 hours, Phuket bound flight from 6:25 hours to 6:56 hours, and Bahrain bound flight from 5:40 hours to 6:53 hours," it added. 26 trains are running late and two trains were rescheduled in the Northern Railway region due to fog. The prevailing cold conditions pushed Delhi's peak power demand to a record high of 5,247 MW on Thursday morning, more than the peaks during winters in the past two years, officials told PTI.
Rajasthan: The meteorological office has issued an 'orange alert' indicating that extreme cold wave may continue in many districts, including Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Jhunjhunu and Karauli. According to the Meteorological Department, dense and very dense fog is predicted in some areas of Rajasthan over the next 24 hours. Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions is also expected in a few regions of the state, as per the MET Department.
Severe fog continued to prevail in Northern Rajasthan's Sikar resulting in reduced visibility. IMD reported a minimum temperature of 5.1 degree celsius in many areas of the state. Churu and Sikar recorded the lowest temperature in the country over the plain regions with minus 1.5 degrees celsius.
In the wake of extreme cold conditions, the Jaipur District Collector issued order to extend winter vacations in Government and Private schools till 7 January. The schools will now reopen on January 9. Apart from Jaipur, the District Collector of Baran has issued an order to extend winter vacations till Monday, January 9. The schools will now reopen on January 10.
Uttar Pradesh: IMD in its forecast on 3 January had said that cold day to severe cold day conditions in many pockets very likely over Uttar Pradesh during next 5 days. Normal life was hit in large parts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday due to the continued severe cold conditions, with little respite expected for the next few days. Mohammad Danish, acting director of the Meteorological Center in Lucknow said, “Although there is a possibility of some change from Thursday, no major relief is expected from the severe cold for the next three-four days."
Madhya Pradesh: IMD on Thursday issued an 'orange alert' for moderate to dense fog in six divisions and 15 districts in Madhya Pradesh. The IMD also said two districts in the state experienced cold wave during the day, while four districts witnessed 'severe cold' and 12 districts, including capital Bhopal and commercial hub Indore, seeing 'cold day'. "Datia and Chhatarpur saw a cold wave, while Dhar, Khandwa, Chhindwara and Datia experienced severe cold day on Thursday. Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Chhatarpur, Narisinghpur, Seoni, Umaria, Rewa, Ujjain and Ratlam had a cold day," IMD Bhopal duty officer HS Pandey told PTI. Cold waves are expected in Gwalior, Chhatarpur and Datia, with the last two districts also likely to have frost conditions. Classes for students of Nursery to Std 8 will remain closed in all schools in Bhopal till 10th January in wake of cold wave.
Jammu and Kashmir: J&K saw a dip in temperature, with capital Srinagar recording its coldest night of the season so far at minus 6.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night. Officials told PTI that the minimum temperature in Srinagar was also the second lowest in the month of January in the last five years. Qazigund, the gateway town to the Kashmir Valley, registered a minimum of minus 6.2 degrees Celsius – a degree down from the previous night. The tourist destination of Pahalgam in Anantnag district, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, registered a low of minus 9.2 degrees Celsius and was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.
Punjab and Haryana: Cold conditions continued to prevail in Haryana and Punjab, with minimum temperatures remaining below normal at many places on Friday. According to the Met department's weather report, Narnaul was the coldest place in Haryana, recording a minimum temperature of 2.5 degrees Celsius. Bathinda recorded a low of 3.6 degrees Celsius, Gurdaspur 3.8 degrees, Ludhiana 4.6 degrees, Patiala 5.5 degrees, Amritsar 5 degrees. In Mohali, the minimum temperature settled at 5.4 degrees Celsius. People in Bhatinda are facing a lot of trouble due to dense fog and cold wave. While speaking to ANI, a local said, "There is a lot of fog in Bathinda. One person is not able to see another person. There is a lot of difficulty in commuting." Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 5 degree Celsius.
Gujarat: In Gujarat's Kutch district, Naliya village on Thursday recorded the state's lowest temperature at 2 degrees Celsius. While Naliya is experiencing a 'cold wave', Deesa in neighbouring Banaskantha district recorded its lowest temperature at 7 degrees Celsius, followed by 8 degrees Celsius at Kandla Airport, 9 degrees Celsius in Bhuj, Gandhinagar and Vallabh Vidyanagar. Ahmedabad's minimum temperature was 10 degrees Celsius, which was 2 degrees Celsius less than normal temperature. In the plains, the Met office declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to four degrees Celsius or when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees or below and is 4.5 notches below the normal.
(With inputs from agencies)
