IMD forecasts rain for Delhi, north, central India in next 48 hours; cold spell thereafter

Forecasting a fresh spell of moderate rainfall over central and adjoining northwest India, including Delhi, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Sunday said a fresh western disturbance will impact Western Himalayan regions in the next 48 hours.

Issuing an orange alert for Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan for Monday and Tuesday, the weather department’s bulletin said “A fresh rainfall spell likely over northwest and central India on January 8 and 9.”

The weather department also issued an alert for thunderstorms and hailstorms at isolated places in West Madhya Pradesh in the next 24 hours and East Rajasthan on Monday and Tuesday.

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“There will be a temporary rise in maximum and minimum temperatures during this period. After the rain stops and the WD (western disturbance) moves away, temperatures are expected to drop again and we can expect cold wave conditions to set in over parts of northwest India,” IMD director general M Mohapatra said.

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Under the influence of western disturbance and its interaction with lower level easterly winds, light isolated rainfall/snowfall is likely over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand on January 9 and over plains of Northwest India and Central India on January 8 and 9, IMD has warned.

The weather department said, “light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning is also very likely in some pockets in Maharashtra from January 7 to 9 and in Gujarat on January 8 and 9” adding that “Isolated hailstorm is also likely in east Rajasthan on January 8 and 9 and in west Madhya Pradesh on January 8.”

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Moreover, a light to moderate rainfall spell is also likely in south Peninsular India with isolated heavy rainfall over Tamil Nadu during the next four days and over Kerala during the next two days.

The weather department also alerted of dense to very dense fog and cold to severe cold day conditions in Northwest India in the next 24 hours which would gradually decrease thereafter. Cold-day conditions have already started abating from many parts of northwest India.

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On Sunday, very dense fog with visibility below 50 metres was reported from pockets in Jammu, Punjab, north Haryana, Chandigarh, east and west Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, west Rajasthan and north Chhattisgarh.

Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail in night/morning hours in some parts of Punjab and isolated pockets of Haryana-Chandigarh from January 7 to 9, said IMD.

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According to the IMD, minimum temperatures are in the range of 6-9°C in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan; 10-12°C over parts of east Uttar Pradesh, rest parts of Rajasthan and northwest Madhya Pradesh.

It is above normal by 1-3°C over isolated pockets in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Rajasthan and in many pockets in west Uttar Pradesh, west Madhya Pradesh and 4-7°C above normal over many parts of east Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, the weather department said.

Whereas, maximum temperatures are in the range of 14-15°C in Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi and 16-18°C in north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh, the weather department added.

It is below normal by 4-9°C in many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.