Dense fog will remain in North India for the next 2 days.

New Delhi: The Meteorological Department has forecast dense fog for the next 2 days in the Gangetic plains. Dense to very dense fog is likely in most areas of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the next 24 hours. In UP, the Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert till 24 December. The harshest winter season ‘Chillai Kalan’ has started in Jammu and Kashmir, in which reservoirs and rivers and streams freeze. Due to low visibility due to fog in North India, rail and road traffic is being affected. Many trains are running late, some have had to be cancelled. Road accidents have increased. All private-government schools in Gautam Buddha Nagar will open from 9 am today. The District Magistrate has issued an order in this regard.

Weather agency Skymet Weather informed about the active weather system across the country that the low pressure area over central parts of southwest Bengal and adjoining equatorial Indian Ocean has intensified into a well defined low pressure area and is now over Southwest Bengal. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal and the adjacent East Equatorial Indian Ocean. The associated cyclonic circulation extends up to the middle tropospheric levels. During the last 24 hours, light to moderate rain occurred over Lakshadweep. Light rain occurred at one or two places over South Coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Sikkim. Dense to very dense fog prevailed in the Gangetic plains from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana.

During the next 24 hours, light to moderate rain with one or two spells of heavy rain very likely over Coastal Tamil Nadu. Light rain is possible at one or two places over Interior Tamil Nadu, South Coast of Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Dense fog is expected in the Gangetic plains. Due to the dense fog, there was heavy jam in many places in Delhi on Wednesday morning. Due to heavy fog in Chandigarh, Varanasi and Lucknow on Tuesday night, three flights returned to Delhi or were diverted to Delhi. Visibility was 400 meters at Palam airport on Wednesday and 500 meters at Safdarjung airport, 50 meters visibility at both places on Tuesday.

In Leh-Ladakh, Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, rivers, streams, lakes and waterfalls have started freezing without snowfall. In many areas here, the temperature has reached even below minus. The Meteorological Department has also expressed the possibility of heavy snowfall in the next 2 days. The effect of snowfall on the mountains will also be seen on the plains. The effect of dense fog and mist will be visible in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, North Rajasthan, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Tripura. Along with this, there will be a drop in the minimum temperature as well. Melting will increase in the plains of Ganga.