A thick blanket of dense fog and cold wave continued to grip several parts of India on Friday, December 19, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD)
issuing red and orange alerts for multiple states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar, warning of severely reduced visibility and plummeting temperatures.
The IMD issued a red alert in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, forecasting very dense fog and a severe cold day on December 19. Meanwhile, an orange alert for dense fog has been issued for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
A yellow alert is also in place for dense fog for Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and the northeastern states. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for national capital New Delhi due to dense fog in the morning hours.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the weather agency said, "Dense to extremely dense fog is predicted throughout Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Bihar on the 19th and 20th of December, as well as over Uttar Pradesh and Haryana during the early morning hours. For the next two to three days, fog conditions are probably going to persist."
Rainfall and snowfall across Jammu & Kashmir
Light rainfall or snowfall is anticipated at many locations across Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, and Muzaffarabad on December 20 and 21, with the possibility of heavy rainfall or snowfall at isolated places on the 21. For the same region, light rainfall or snowfall is expected at a few places on December 19, 22, and 23.
Himachal Pradesh is likely to experience light rainfall or snowfall during the period of December 20 and 22, and Uttarakhand on December 20 and 21. Further, isolated places in Punjab may also see light rainfall from December 20 to 22.
Very dense fog conditions in Haryana, Chandigarh
Severe fog conditions are expected across various regions of India for the period of December 19–25. In its latest bulletin, the IMD predicted dense to very dense fog during early morning hours at a few places in Punjab on December 19 and 20, and across Haryana and Chandigarh from December 19 to 21.
Isolated pockets of Punjab will continue to see dense fog on December 21, 24, and 25, with similar conditions for Haryana and Chandigarh on December 22, 24 and 25.
In Uttar Pradesh, dense to very dense fog is anticipated at a few to many locations during early hours from December 19 to 21. This will transition to dense fog in isolated pockets between December 22 and 25. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand is expected to experience dense to very dense fog during the morning hours at isolated places on December 19 and 20, followed by dense fog in isolated areas on December 21.
In Bihar, very dense fog is likely at isolated places on December 19 and 20, while a few places may see dense fog on December 21 and 22. Isolated pockets of Jharkhand and Odisha will likely see dense fog on December 19 and 20.
Gangetic West Bengal is expected to have similar conditions on December 20, and East Madhya Pradesh on both the 19th and 20th. Dense fog is predicted to prevail during the early morning hours across the region from December 19 to 22.
