Due to light rain in the country's capital Delhi, the AQI level has decreased and the air has improved. At the same time, fog is wreaking havoc in states like Rajasthan and Meghalaya. Here on Thursday night, there is a situation of zero visibility due to fog. Due to dense fog, nothing is visible at a distance of more than one meter. An orange alert has been issued for severe cold wave in Himachal Pradesh. There is a yellow alert for cold wave in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

Due to the western disturbance, moderate rain, thunderstorm and hailstorm are expected in northwest and central India on 27 and 28 December. Severe cold day conditions are likely to prevail in some places of Himachal Pradesh on 28 December.

Many cities are in the grip of cold wave

Many parts of north India remained in the grip of a severe cold wave on Thursday with some cities in the Kashmir Valley recording minimum temperatures several degrees below the freezing point. The weather remained mostly dry in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the last 24 hours. Severe cold wave conditions prevailed in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan with the mercury dropping several degrees below normal. Light snowfall is expected in the higher reaches of Kashmir on Friday and Saturday as a western disturbance is likely to affect the region, officials said. 

Pipeline water accumulated in Kashmir

Night temperatures dropped at many places in Kashmir, as cold wave continued to grip the valley. Due to the fall in mercury, water in the water supply pipes has frozen. At the same time, a thin layer of ice has frozen on the surface of many reservoirs including Dal Lake. The Meteorological Department said that the minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at minus 7 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night, which was minus 7.3 degrees Celsius the previous night. The minimum temperature in Gulmarg, a tourist resort town famous for skiing activities in North Kashmir, was recorded at minus 6 degrees Celsius, which was minus 6.6 degrees Celsius the previous night. 

The minimum temperature in Pahalgam, the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, was recorded at minus 8.6 degrees Celsius, up from minus 8.4 degrees Celsius the previous night. Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7 degrees Celsius, while Konibal Valley, a small village in Pampore area, was the coldest place at a low of minus 9 degrees Celsius. The Weather Department said an active western disturbance would continue to prevail over Jammu and Kashmir from Friday noon to Saturday noon. 

Chances of snowfall in Himachal

Himachal Pradesh will receive fresh snowfall in high and medium hills from December 27. Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla recorded a maximum temperature of 14.8 degrees Celsius, while popular tourist destination Kufri near Shimla recorded a maximum temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius. Major tourist destinations Dharamsala and Manali recorded temperatures of 21.4 degrees Celsius and 12.7 degrees Celsius respectively. Punjab and Haryana are continuously in the grip of severe cold. Meteorological Department officials said that on Thursday, many places in both the states remained cold and the minimum temperature was recorded at 7.3 degrees Celsius in Chandigarh, the common capital of both the states. According to the Meteorological Center in Jaipur, light to moderate rain is expected in Udaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Jaipur, Bharatpur and parts of Bikaner division due to a new western disturbance. The lowest minimum temperature in Rajasthan was recorded at 3.8 degrees Celsius in Fatehpur (Sikar), 5 degrees Celsius in Churu and 5.7 degrees Celsius in Pilani.