Punjab and other parts of Northern India continue to witness chilling winters with many areas being on yellow alert. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has put Punjab and Haryana on Yellow Alert. Furthermore, the IMD has warned that severe cold winds will continue to shiver the states. Furthermore, multiple cities in Punjab will witness a thick blanket of fog. Punjab winters which is famous for bone-chilling winters has been witnessing its peak in the month of December.
On Monday, Faridkot witnessed a chilling weather. As per IMD Chandigarh, Faridkot's minimum temperature was registered at 0.6°C. A few days back on Friday, Adampur recorded a minimum temperature of -0.4°C. Talking about the yellow alert, 18 districts of Punjab along with Chandigarh have been alerted. In Punjab, cold wave alert has been issued in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar, Mansa, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Roopnagar, Patiala and SAS Nagar.
IMD also predicted the weather conditions in the upcoming days in Punjab. As per IMD Chandigarh, the impact of the active western disturbance and pressure area will be less visible over Punjab-Chandigarh. There is no chance of rain here yet. The Meteorological Centre has predicted dry weather till December 19.
Notably, cold wave conditions across north India generally set in by mid-December and last until January. However, since December 8, cold wave and severe cold wave conditions have been observed, with significantly colder nights. We explain why, and the outlook for the next few days.
IMD Chandigarh quoted by Indian Express revealed the reason behind early cold wave in Punjab. As per the reports, two western disturbances impacted the western Himalayan region and adjoining plains on December 8, moving eastward by December 9. Prolonged dry weather over the last two months has further contributed to the early onset of cold conditions. Punjab and Haryana received only a fraction of their required rainfall, with Punjab recording just 18% of normal rainfall and Haryana only 4%. This lack of rainfall reduced soil moisture, intensifying the cooling effect during clear nights.
Punjab cities with minimum temperature on December 16
- Amritsar-2.4°C
- Ludhiana- 3.6°C
- Patiala- 5.3°C
- Pathankot-2.3°C
- Bathinda- 3.2°C
- Faridkot-0.6°C
- Gurdaspur- 3.0°C