The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast abatement in cold wave conditions over northwest India from today. The weather office in its bulletin on Wednesday also said that a fresh intense western disturbance will affect western Himalayan region from January 20 night to January 26 and plains of northwest India from January 23 to 25.
Several parts of India including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have been reeling under intense cold wave for the last few days with temperatures in the states dipping to single digit. The weather office has forecast that there will be no significant change in minimum temperatures over the rest parts of the country during the next four to five days.
The IMD has predicted that “cold wave to severe cold wave” conditions will continue in isolated pockets over north Rajasthan and “cold wave” condition in isolated pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and north Madhya Pradesh on January 19 and abate thereafter.
It also said that dense fog is likely to engulf Himachal Pradesh on January 19; sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim and Bihar till January 20; Odisha, Assam and Meghalaya and Tripura till January 21. The temperature was below normal in Kota, Bikaner and Jodhpur division divisions; and appreciably below normal in Jaipur, Ajmer and Udaipur divisions.
The Met Department has issued an alert of rain and hailstorm in Rajasthan. According to the weather forecast, a hailstorm may hit the state next week. Jobner was the coldest place in Jaipur with minus 2.5 degrees Celsius. In Sikar too, the temperature settled at minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, below the freezing point. This is the second time this season in Sikar, when the mercury went in the minus, said officials.