A cold wave has gripped parts of North India, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing yellow and orange alerts in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Due to chilly weather, authorities in Patna have ordered schools to remain close for students up to Class 8 from December 26 to December 31. Meanwhile, 'Storm Warning Cage 3' has been mounted at Pampan port in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.

Less visibility due to dense fog

At 5:30, the visibility recorded in Bhatinda and Bikaner was 0 metres. In Amritsar, Ambala and Ganganagar, the visibility was 25 metres. In Delhi, Hisar, Churu, Bareilly, Paradip and Bhubaneshwar, it was 50 metres and in Chandigarh, Jammu and Malda, it was 200 metres.

According to the IMD, "very dense" fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 metres is "dense", 201 and 500 "moderate", and 501 and 1,000 "shallow".

Ten trains were reported running late by 1:45 to 3:30 hours, a railway spokesperson was quoted News 18 as saying.

Temperature drops, Cold wave alert in these states:

Delhi

The IMD has predicted "mainly clear sky. moderate fog. cold day at isolated places". Dense fog and cold wave conditions are predicted at most places in the city on Monday. Palam in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 6.5°C while Safdarjung records a minimum temperature of 5°C, said the IMD. A cold wave swept parts of Delhi on Sunday with the minimum temperature dropping to 3 degrees Celsius in the Ridge area, the IMD said.

Bihar

Schools in Patna will remain closed for students up to class 8 from December 26 to December 31, the DM said in an order. Fog will blanket parts of the state, as per IMD.

Bihar | In view of the cold wave conditions, schools in Patna will remain closed for students up to class 8 from December 26 to December 31: DM Patna pic.twitter.com/wjGqxHVCWf

— ANI (@ANI) December 25, 2022

Punjab

The IMD predicted cold day, cold wave conditions and dense to very dense fog at isolated places. A red alert has been issued in most parts of Punjab. Districts including Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Firozpur, Moga, Muktasar, Fazilka, Barnala, Jalandhar, Patiala and Ludhiana are on severe cold wave alert.

Haryana

Even Haryana is likely to witness cold conditions on Friday. Sirasa, Fatehbad, Jind, Bhiwani, Kaithal, Karnal and Ambala are on red alert, while Rewari, Jhajjar and Gurgoan are on orange alert.

Tamil Nadu

All of Tamil Nadu is on yellow alert in the wake of the possibility of heavy rainfall in parts of the state. "Light to...heavy rainfall (are likely to occur) at isolated places is likely over south coastal Tamil Nadu on 25th & 26th December 2022," the IMD said.

Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, Thiruneveli, Virudhunagar, Pudukkottai, Sivagangai, Thanjavur and Ramanathapuram are likely to witness heavy rainfall on Friday.

Jammu and Kashmir

Cold conditions intensified in Kashmir as the minimum temperature dipped several degrees below the freezing point on Monday. Padum in Ladakh recorded the minimum temperature of -18.8°C, while Upshi, Tangtse Durbuk and Nyoma recorded temperature below -6°C.

Rajasthan

Parts of Mount Abu were covered with snow as the temperature in parts of north India on Monday. While lowest minimum temperature of 0°C recorded in Churu, cold-wave conditions are likely to prevail in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh.

#WATCH राजस्थान: माउंट आबू में तापमान गिरने के कारण बर्फ की परत जम गई। मैदानों, वाहनों के शीशे पर बर्फ जम गई। pic.twitter.com/8frkPxBmNf

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) December 26, 2022

Himachal Pradesh

Cold wave conditions are likely to prevail in Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur.

What is a cold wave?

In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches below normal. A "severe" cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.

First Published:Dec 26, 2022 10:31 AM IST