A dozen flights were delayed due to dense fog at Delhi airport early on Tuesday morning. The Low Visibility Procedure was initiated at Delhi Airport last night due to heavy fog. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said cold wave conditions would likely prevail in North India for the next few days. On Tuesday, IMD warnings were issued in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

"Cold wave conditions will likely continue over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and north Rajasthan during next 4-5 days," the IMD had said earlier — prompting authorities to shut schools in some states for a few more days.

Meanwhile, it might shower in parts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. "Thunderstorm, lightning with light to moderate rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu during the next one to two hours," Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said.

Here's a look at state-wise fog and cold wave situation:

Delhi

IMD predicted mainly clear sky and dense fog on Tuesday morning. As many as 12 trains were delayed at Delhi airport - among these 12, four were international flights (including two arrivals), seven were domestic departures, and one was domestic arrival to Delhi.

Punjab and Haryana

An orange alert was issued in parts of Punjab on Tuesday. Districts where a warning was issued include Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Fatehgarh Sahib and SAS Nagar. Cold wave conditions are also predicted in Sangrur, Barnala and Patiala.

Cold wave conditions were also predicted in Jind, Rohtak, Ambala, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Sirsa, Hisar, Bhiwani, Rewari and Mewat districts of Haryana.

Locals warm themselves near a bonfire on a cold winter morning in Amritsar, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (PTI Photo)

Schools in Punjab were ordered to remain shut till January 8. "The Punjab government has extended winter holidays in all the government, private and aided schools till January 8, 2023. School Education Minister @HarjotBains said that all schools in the state would not open on January 2nd, as announced earlier. The schools will now open on January 9, 2023, (sic)," the Punjab government tweeted on January 1, 2023.

Severe cold conditions gripped Punjab and Haryana on Monday, with minimum temperatures registering a sharp fall in many places.

According to the MeT Department, Bathinda was the coldest place in Punjab, with a minimum temperature of 0.4 degrees Celsius on Monday. At the same time, Mandkola in Haryana registered a minimum of minus 1.3 degree Celsius. In Haryana, biting cold prevailed in Fatehabad, with a minimum temperature of 3.2 degrees Celsius.

Uttar Pradesh

Many parts of Uttar Pradesh are likely to reel under cold wave conditions. Sharanpur, Moradabad, Meerut, Bareilly, Pilphit, Kanpur Dehat, Prayagraj, Gazipur, Mau, Amethi and Gonda are among some districts which are likely to see severe cold wave conditions.

An official order said that schools in Lucknow would remain closed from January 4-7, given the cold wave conditions. Given the MeT department issuing a cold wave alert, a holiday was announced in all government and private schools of urban and rural areas of all boards up to Class 12, an order issued by Lucknow District Magistrate Suryapal Gangwar said.

The order will also apply to Kasturba Gandhi residential girls' schools, as it will be added on all students, teachers, and non-teaching staff (except emergency services).

Himachal, Uttarakhand and Ladakh

Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur in Himachal, and Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand are on alert for cold wave conditions. Ladakh's Padun was the coldest Monday and froze at -25.1 degrees Celcius.

Vehicles ply on a road amid low visibility on a cold and foggy winter morning in Dehradun, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. (PTI Photo)

First Published:Jan 3, 2023 10:35 AM IST