New Delhi: As November bids farewell, winter has roared in with vengeance across northern India. A thick blanket of fog swallowed Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday morning, slashing visibility to nearly zero and throwing road, rail, and air traffic into disarray.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded a yellow alert for dense fog in these states until December 2, warning commuters of hazardous driving conditions.
Minimum temperatures have nosedived: Delhi recorded 10.4°C, two notches below normal, while Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan plunged to a biting 6.8°C. A full-blown cold wave alert has been issued for Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, and Churu districts over the next 48 hours, as icy winds from the snow-clad Himalayas sweep southward.
Meanwhile, the weather map depicts two distinct Indias. While the north shivers, southern states are bracing for a wet weekend. Tamil Nadu and Kerala are on orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall until December 1, courtesy of a well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal.
Coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, may receive isolated extremely heavy showers, raising fears of urban flooding.
IMD scientists say the contrasting weather is classic late-November behaviour: western disturbances are still weak, allowing cold north-westerlies to dominate the plains, while a vigorous northeast monsoon continues to lash the peninsular coast. “Expect the chill to intensify after December 5 when a fresh western disturbance brushes the Himalayas,” a senior IMD official said.
India is experiencing the full impact of seasonal extremes, from fogged-out highways to waterlogged streets. Pull out those woollens up north and keep umbrellas handy down south — winter has truly arrived in all its dramatic glory.