Overview
- Rajasthan remained the epicentre of the chill, with Fatehpur (Sikar) at 1.6°C and several districts near or below 5°C as the Met office warned the cold wave will persist.
- Kashmir entered a harsher phase of Chillai Kalan with sub-zero nights — Sonamarg −7.3°C, Gulmarg −5.4°C, Srinagar −2.2°C — and generally dry weather forecast till year-end with light snow possible around Dec 29–Jan 1.
- An orange alert for dense to very dense fog is in force across much of Punjab and Haryana through Dec 26, with IMD impact advisories highlighting risks to road, rail and air travel.
- Telangana continued to log single-digit minima — lowest 6.9°C at Tiryani — as IMD flagged minimums 3–4°C below normal at isolated pockets for two days, with local forecasters indicating modest easing around Dec 27.
- East and central India cooled further as the IMD said south Bengal minimums will fall 2–3°C (Kolkata 13.7°C, Darjeeling 4.5°C), Madhya Pradesh saw Pachmarhi at 3.8°C, and Pakistan’s PMD forecast cold, dry conditions with patchy fog and Islamabad lows near 2–4°C.