A thick blanket of fog and a sharp dip in mercury gripped the northern plains on Monday, with Bathinda in Punjab recording the season's lowest minimum temperature so far. The city witnessed the mercury plunging to a chilly 4.8 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest spot in the plains of the country.
Visibility Drops, Temperatures Plunge Below Normal
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that very dense to dense fog with visibility reduced to less than 50 metres enveloped isolated parts of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh during the morning hours. Bathinda was worst-hit with visibility as low as 10 metres. Other affected areas included Amritsar (50m visibility) and Hisar in Haryana (30m visibility).
The temperature in Bathinda saw a significant drop of 1.2 degrees Celsius over the past 24 hours, settling at 0.6°C below the normal average for this time of year. Across both states, minimum temperatures ranged between 5°C and 10°C at many places.
Hisar in Haryana Also Feels the Bite
In neighbouring Haryana, Hisar recorded the state's lowest minimum temperature at 5.7 degrees Celsius. This reading was a substantial 2.4 degrees Celsius below the normal level. The IMD noted that isolated places in Haryana experienced a temperature fall of 1.6°C to 3°C below normal.
Interestingly, while Punjab's average minimum temperature fell by 0.1°C compared to Sunday, Haryana saw a marginal rise of 0.1°C in its average. Both states, however, recorded temperatures near the normal mark on average.
Colder Days and Dense Fog Ahead
The weather office has issued a forecast indicating a further intensification of the cold wave. Minimum temperatures are expected to fall by another 2 degrees Celsius across the region over the next two days.
Furthermore, dense fog conditions are very likely to continue during the early morning hours on December 16 and 17 in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh. This combination of dense fog and falling temperatures is set to define the weather pattern in the region for the immediate future, impacting travel and daily life.
