Despite a slight respite in the cold wave conditions in Kashmir and several other parts of the country, as the mercury rose by a few degrees at several places, a fresh spell of dense to very dense fog conditions is likely to commence over the plains of northwest India from 31st December 2022, and cold wave conditions may worsen from January 2, 2023.
Due to the rise in minimum and maximum temperatures by 3-5°C, cold waves, cold days and dense fog conditions have abated from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan to a certain extent. Minimum temperatures are in the range of 7-10°C over many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Dense fog is very likely in isolated pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Bihar during next 24 hours and dense to very dense fog is likely in isolated pockets over Punjab and Haryana and Chandigarh during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Dense fog is very likely in isolated pockets over Uttar Pradesh during 30th December-03rd January and over north Rajasthan during December 31-January 3. Dense fog is very likely in isolated pockets over Arunachal Pradesh during the next 24 hours and over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during the next 2 days.
In the meantime, there is a slight respite in the cold wave conditions in Kashmir as the mercury rose by a few degrees across the Valley, officials said. There is a possibility of intermittent light to moderate snowfall at scattered places over two days from Thursday, they said.
Some improvement in the night temperature across the Valley was witnessed as the mercury rose by around three degrees, providing slight relief from the intense cold which had led to the freezing of water supply lines in several areas, as well as the interiors of Dal Lake and other water bodies in Kashmir, officials said.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, up from minus 5.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night. Pahalgam, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, up from minus 7.4 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in the skiing destination of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district was minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, up from minus 6 degrees Celsius. In the frontier Kupwara district, the minimum temperature settled at minus 3.3 degrees Celsius, while Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, recorded 3.2 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
Although there was brief snowfall in Pahalgam and adjoining areas in south Kashmir, the Valley is going through a dry spell with no major precipitation forecast till the end of December. However, according to the Meteorological (MeT) Department, there is a possibility of intermittent light to moderate snowfall at scattered to fairly widespread places in the valley.
Srinagar and other areas in the Kashmir plains received light snowfall, the season’s first on Thursday, while moderate snow broke the dry spell in the Valley’s higher reaches, officials said. Most of the plains in the Valley, including Srinagar, received light snowfall from late in the afternoon on Thursday, they said. The snowfall was continuing when the last reports came in. Other areas in the higher reaches of the Kashmir Valley received moderate snow, the officials said.
WhatsApp us