Delhi, surrounding regions brace for chilly New Year, dense fog on cards

Delhi and the surrounding regions are set to experience dense to very dense fog and cold to severe cold wave conditions as the city is set to usher in the New Year.

Meteorological forecasts predicted these conditions would last until January 1, impacting visibility and lowering daytime temperatures. The weather department warned that Northwest India would face the brunt of this cold spell over the coming days.

Haryana and Chandigarh were expected to experience cold wave conditions on December 31. The cold wave was likely to spread to parts of West Uttar Pradesh and northern Madhya Pradesh until January 1.

Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh are predicted to see dense to very dense fog late on Monday.

The weather department anticipated that foggy conditions would continue late at night and early in the morning across regions such as Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, and other northeastern states until December 31. These conditions were expected to persist in Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh until January 1.

Areas including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim were also likely to remain foggy until January 1, with Himachal Pradesh experiencing similar conditions until January 2.

In Delhi, temperatures dropped significantly on Monday morning. The Safdarjung area recorded a maximum temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, 5 degrees below normal, while Palam noted 13 degrees Celsius, 7 degrees below the seasonal average.

However, the air quality in the national capital improved to the “moderate” category on Monday, with an AQI at 183, according to the weather department.