The Meteorological Department has predicted the onset of cold wave conditions in some parts of North India from December 29. According to the IMD, there are chances of rain and snowfall in the western Himalayan region. There is a possibility of rain and snowfall in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. At the same time, there is heavy fog in Punjab and Rajasthan. Fog can also become a problem in other parts of North India. There is a possibility of lightning and hail in Madhya Pradesh. Strong winds can blow here along with thundering clouds. The Meteorological Department has issued an alert.

Dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to prevail at isolated places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan during late night/ morning hours of 28-30 December. Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are likely to prevail at some places over Himachal Pradesh on 30 and 31 December.  

Record breaking rain in Delhi

Delhi on Saturday recorded the highest rainfall in a single day in December in 101 years. According to the Meteorological Department, Delhi recorded 41.2 mm of rain in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am on Saturday, due to which the temperature remained below normal throughout the day. The national capital had received the highest rainfall in a single day on December 3, 1923, which was 75.7 mm. December 2024 has been the fifth wettest month in terms of monthly rainfall since the data was recorded in 1901. The IMD said that due to the active western disturbance and its interaction with eastern winds, light to moderate rain and thundershowers are occurring in northwest and central India including Delhi-NCR. 

Dense fog predicted in Delhi

The weather department has forecast dense fog on Sunday and the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be 17 and 9 degrees Celsius respectively. Meanwhile, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality in Delhi improved and the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 135 at 4 pm on Saturday. According to the SAMEER app, out of 28 monitoring stations, four - IHBAS Dilshad Garden, Lodhi Road and Sri Aurobindo Marg - recorded AQI in the 'satisfactory' category and remained below 100. At the remaining stations, the AQI was recorded in the 'moderate' and 'poor' categories.

Rain in many parts of Punjab, Haryana

Parts of Punjab and Haryana received rain for the second consecutive day on Saturday, leading to a drop in day temperatures in both states. According to the local weather department, Chandigarh recorded a maximum temperature of 15.1 degrees Celsius. Amritsar in Punjab recorded a day temperature of 14.8 degrees Celsius, while Ludhiana recorded a temperature of 15.4 degrees Celsius. Patiala recorded a maximum temperature of 15.7 degrees Celsius, Gurdaspur 15 degrees and Ferozepur 14.2 degrees Celsius.