January 4 - 6 Cold wave alert for Delhi-NCR; Winter Holidays for schools

A fresh western disturbance has brought in a huge weather change, giving a chill over the northern part of the country. Delhi-NCR woke up to dense fog on Wednesday as the visibility worsened and the people were left wrapping themselves into warm clothing.

The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a forecast with light rain and snowfall throughout the western Himalayas, such as Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, and Muzaffarabad until 6 January. Light rain would also prevail throughout the North West India plains in the interval 4 to 6 January.

Besides the rain and snowfall, the IMD has issued a warning of thunderstorms and lightning in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, and Himachal Pradesh on January 5 and 6.

The cold wave has already begun to take its toll on Delhi, with people resorting to bonfires to keep themselves warm. The national capital witnessed very low visibility due to the dense fog, leading to a drop in temperature.

Given the severe cold, schools and colleges in the region have announced winter holidays, giving students a much-needed break from the chill.

The IMD has forecasted dense fog in several states including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, West Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Odisha, and dense fog conditions can be observed in Himachal Pradesh as well as in Madhya Pradesh. Dense fog can be witnessed till January 6 in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.

Also read: School Holidays from January 3 here in Uttar Pradesh due to Cold wave