India Braces for Winter: Fresh Alerts Issued for Cold Wave, Dense Fog, and Snowfall

As winter tightens its grip across India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued fresh alerts for cold wave conditions, dense fog and snowfall across several regions, warning of transport disruptions and a further dip in temperatures.Dense fog disrupts DelhiDense fog has continued to shroud Delhi, disrupting daily life and air travel. Over the past two days, several flights have been cancelled due to poor visibility caused by fog and smog.On Monday alone, at least 300 flights across northern India were cancelled, while hundreds more were delayed. Airlines have issued advisories cautioning passengers about possible delays and urging them to check flight status before heading to airports.Fog and cold wave forecastAccording to IMD, dense fog is likely to persist in isolated pockets during early morning hours across multiple regions.The Northeast is expected to witness fog from December 17 to 21, while Punjab may see similar conditions from December 17 to 20. Uttarakhand, west Madhya Pradesh and Odisha are likely to experience fog on December 17 and 18.Also ReadWhy China's graduates are choosing government jobs over private firmsMusk's worth soars past $600 bn; richer than Bezos, Zuckerberg combinedDelhi AQI remains 'very poor'; govt announces BS-VI vehicle rulesTrump to deliver prime-time address on Thursday morning amid waning supportDelhi tightens pollution norms, bars non-BS-VI vehicles from Dec 18Haryana and Chandigarh may witness dense fog between December 18 and 20. Uttar Pradesh is expected to see very dense fog at some places on December 17, with isolated patches likely on December 18.Cold wave conditions are also forecast at isolated places over Telangana, north interior Karnataka and west Madhya Pradesh on December 17 and 18, intensifying winter chill in these regions.Rainfall and snowfall outlookLight rainfall or snowfall is likely at a few or isolated places over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad between December 18 and 22.Himachal Pradesh and Punjab may receive rainfall on December 20 and 21, while Uttarakhand is likely to witness rain or snowfall on December 21.Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds of 30–40 kmph are very likely at isolated places over the Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on December 17.Minimum temperature outlookIMD has forecast no significant change in minimum temperatures over northwest India during the next three days, followed by a gradual rise of about 2–3 degrees Celsius over the subsequent four days.Over the rest of the country, minimum temperatures are expected to remain largely unchanged over the next seven days.