The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a stern warning on Friday, stating that severe cold wave conditions and dense fog are likely to persist across large swathes of northwestern, central, and eastern India for the next several days. This ongoing harsh weather has already thrown transport services into disarray, leading to significant delays and cancellations of flights and trains.
Detailed State-Wise Forecast and Temperature Plunge
According to the detailed IMD bulletin, cold day conditions are predicted in isolated pockets of eastern Rajasthan and Bihar from January 9 to 11. Similarly, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, western Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh will experience these conditions on January 9 and 10.
More severe cold wave conditions are anticipated in specific pockets across numerous states on different days:
- January 10-11: Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Odisha, and North Interior Karnataka.
- January 10: Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.
- January 11-14: Rajasthan.
The IMD also forecasts that dense fog will blanket northwest India and Bihar during morning hours for the next 5 to 7 days. Isolated parts of central India, northeast India, and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim will also experience fog over the next 2–3 days.
Recorded Minimum Temperatures and Impact on Plains
Data from the past 24 hours underscores the intense winter grip. As of 8:30 am on Friday, temperatures plummeted below the freezing point (0°C) at many stations across Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, and in isolated areas of Himachal Pradesh.
In the plains, a wide region recorded chilling lows:
- 0°C to 5°C: Uttarakhand, Delhi, and northern Madhya Pradesh.
- 5°C to 10°C: Large parts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, remaining Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, and a few locations in Haryana and Madhya Maharashtra.
- Isolated areas in Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Saurashtra & Kutch, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Telangana also saw minimums between 5°C and 10°C.
The lowest temperature recorded in the plains was 3.4°C in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
Agricultural Outlook: Rabi Crops Remain Unaffected
Despite the challenging weather, agricultural authorities have provided reassuring news for the winter harvest. D K Yadava, Deputy Director General (Crop Science) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), stated that the prevailing conditions are not expected to harm rabi (winter) crops.
"Most rabi crops are in the growing stage currently, and with no reports of frost so far, the prevailing conditions are not expected to have any adverse impact on crops," Yadava explained.
This assessment comes alongside positive sowing data from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare. As of January 2, rabi crop sowing for 2025-26 has increased by over 1.64 million hectares to 63.41 million hectares, marking a 2.65% rise from the previous year. This figure is only slightly below the season's average coverage of 63.78 million hectares.
The expansion in sown area is led by key crops:
- Wheat: Increased by 613,000 hectares.
- Rice: Increased by 267,000 hectares.
- Pulses: Increased by 344,000 hectares (Gram alone increased by 466,000 hectares).
- Oilseeds: Primarily rapeseed and mustard, expanded by 304,000 hectares to 9.63 million hectares.
