Freezing cold temperatures have started affecting the western Himalayan states, with many areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh,
and Himachal Pradesh seeing temperatures fall below zero. Waterfalls in high-altitude areas have frozen, and in Rajasthan, the mercury has dropped to five degrees Celsius.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a rain alert for the next two days and announced that a cold wave will begin across most of North India starting tomorrow.
Rain and Cold Wave in North India
Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi-NCR are expected to experience light rain on Monday, followed by a cold wave.
This change in weather is due to a western disturbance in central Pakistan, which caused some light rain in Delhi-NCR on Sunday.
According to IMD’s forecast, the cold wave will start in Rajasthan from December 9 and last until December 14.
After that, it will affect Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and western Uttar Pradesh starting December 11.
In Delhi, the cold will intensify as temperatures drop. To protect the homeless, night shelters have been set up near AIIMS, Lodhi Road, and Nizamuddin flyover.
The number of people seeking shelter has been increasing as the cold worsens.
Poor Air Quality in Delhi and Light Rain in Jharkhand
Delhi’s air quality has worsened again, reaching the “very poor” category after restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) were lifted.
On Sunday, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) was 302, a significant rise from 233 the previous day.
Many areas in Delhi and nearby NCR regions, including Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Greater Noida, are facing poor air quality.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand is expecting light rain on Monday, which may cause a rise in minimum temperatures by 3-4 degrees and a slight decrease in maximum temperatures.
Dense fog is also expected in several regions including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Sikkim, and West Bengal during late night and early morning hours on December 9.
