Large parts of North India kept reeling under the cold wave condition on January 25 with the Weatherman forecasting no relief from the fog and the chill for the few days.
Delhi-NCR experienced dense fog, leading to very low visibility on many roads on January 25. Railway services have been affected, and many flights were forced to change their timings. Additionally, there may be fresh snowfall in hilly areas from January 25. Most parts of North India, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, are currently facing extremely cold conditions, with the combination of fog and a cold wave impacting the region badly.
While there is expected relief with a slight increase in minimum temperatures by 2-3 degrees, dense fog continued to persist. The weather department predicts the possibility of persistent dense fog in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttar Pradesh until the morning of January 28. Delhi may also experience dense fog until that date.
A cold wave is expected to continue in various areas of Bihar until January 28, the Indian Meteorological Department has said.
The prevailing cold wave is impacting temperatures across several regions. In parts of Punjab, Haryana, and North-West Uttar Pradesh, the minimum temperature ranges from 3 to 6 degrees Celsius. In Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, and Bihar, the minimum temperature is 7 to 10 degrees. Because of severe cold and fog, the Haryana government has declared holidays until January 27 for students in Classes 1 to 5 in both government and private schools, according to several media reports.
According to the Skymet Weather report, Thursday's weather forecast includes the possibility of some moderate rain, along with light rain and snowfall in the western Himalayas. Light to moderate rain is expected in 12 places over Gangetic West Bengal, south Jharkhand, parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, the north coast of Vidarbha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. The intensity of rain may increase from January 26, with moderate to heavy rain possible between January 26 and 28.
Delhi AQI crosses 400-mark
Delhi saw a concerning deterioration in its average air quality index (AQI) on January 24, surpassing the 400-mark, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The AQI, with its scale ranging from 0 to 100 denoting 'good,' 100 to 200 classified as 'moderate,' 200 to 300 categorised as 'poor,' 300 to 400 as 'very poor,' and 400 to 500 or above as 'severe,' underscores the severity of the situation in the national capital.
The Centre is actively monitoring the situation and has opted to observe it for a few days before considering the imposition of stricter measures under Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR. Despite this, the weather department has suggested that there is a possibility of improvement in the situation in the coming days.
The GRAP curbs, which were lifted on January 18 due to improved air quality, may be reinstated depending on the evolving scenario.
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