North India reels under cold wave, IMD records minimum temperatures between 7 and 12°C

NEW DELHI: As the icy chill prevailed in the North Indian belt, the India Metrological Department (IMD) on Saturday recorded minimum temperatures in the range of 7-10°C over most parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, UP and north Rajasthan. The minimum temperatures over most parts of Delhi, south Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh also hovered between 7 and 10°C on Saturday morning, according to the national weather forecasting agency.

A bitter cold continues to hold vast swathes of North India in a tight embrace, sending shivers down spines and shrouding cities in dense fog. Residents and locals have been pictured huddling around bonfires for warmth, their breath puffing into the frosty air as temperatures plummet to bone-chilling levels.

The cities up north, including Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Jaipur and the national capital reeled under a cold wave and dense fog on Saturday morning. Significantly, a thick layer fog over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, north Rajasthan, and north Madhya Pradesh at 8.30 am was captured in a satellite image by the India Metrological Department (IMD).

The Met department warned that "dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to continue in many places in Uttar Pradesh, north Rajasthan and Bihar on December 31 morning". Foggy conditions are also likely in isolated pockets of Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand from December 30 to January 2; Jharkhand on 30th; Odisha, Assam & Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura on Saturday and Sunday, the Met office predicted.

Passengers travelling to and from the national capital also faced difficulties due to the foggy weather conditions, as several flights and trains were delayed and diverted due to low visibility. According to sources, around 80 flights were reported to be delayed due to weather conditions at Delhi's IGI Airport till 8.30 am on Saturday.