The entire north India is in the grip of fierce cold and fog due to the northwest winds. Sheetalhar has broken a 22-year record in the capital Delhi and is unlikely to be relieved. From December 30 onwards, some increase in temperature is expected. Minimum temperatures are expected to fall further in Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan and Delhi. This can also cause cold wave at night.
Cold wave conditions are expected over Amritsar, Chandigarh, Ambala, Delhi-NCR including Punjab, most parts of Haryana and West Uttar Pradesh as well as some places in North Rajasthan. Rail, road and air traffic has been severely affected due to fog. Trains like Tejas, Rajdhani and Shatabdi are also running late.
According to the Meteorological Department, this time the cold wave started in Delhi on December 14, since then its havoc has continued. Earlier in December 1997, there was such a long cold wave. Then there were 17 days of cold wave during the whole month, though these were not continuous. According to Kuldeep Srivastava, in-charge of Regional Meteorological Center, Delhi, the temperature will remain the same till December 29. The minimum temperature can reach 4 degrees. There will be some change in the situation from 30 December. Light drizzle is also expected on January 2 and 3.
