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Northern India’s Cold Wave Intensifies, Freezing Water Bodies and Disrupting Travel

Forecasters see relief later this week as western disturbances arrive from January 16.

Overview

  • Northern plains and foothills recorded day temperatures up to about 10°C below normal, and sub-zero nights in Kashmir froze portions of Dal Lake, according to the IMD.
  • Jammu’s daytime high fell to 7.4°C, the fourth-lowest on record for the city, as persistent fog kept conditions colder than several Kashmir hill stations.
  • Delhi logged a fourth straight cold-wave day with a minimum of 3.8°C and a yellow alert in place, as air quality stayed very poor at an AQI of 353 with some stations in the severe range.
  • The IMD issued dense to very dense fog warnings, including a red alert for Thursday morning visibility in parts of Delhi-NCR, with early hours dropping to 200–300 metres at key observatories.
  • Fog and cold disrupted transport, with three flights cancelled and nine delayed at Jammu airport and several trains delayed there, while five trains were cancelled in Ludhiana; the IMD expects cold-wave conditions to persist till Thursday night before western disturbances from January 16 and around January 19–24 bring precipitation and gradually higher minimums.