Large parts of North India, including Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, woke up to severely disrupted conditions on Monday as a thick blanket of dense to very dense fog engulfed the region. The fog drastically reduced visibility to less than 50 meters in many areas, causing significant challenges for road and air travel.
Travel Chaos as Airports Hit by Zero Visibility
The impact was most acutely felt at several airports in the region. Amritsar, Bathinda, and Hawara airports reported zero visibility during the early morning hours, bringing air operations to a standstill. In other parts of Punjab, the situation was similarly grim with visibility dropping to a mere 10 meters in cities like Patiala and Faridkot. Neighbouring Himachal Pradesh was not spared either, with Bilaspur recording visibility of just 20 meters.
IMD Forecast: More Fog and Falling Temperatures Ahead
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning that these difficult conditions are likely to persist. The weather bureau predicts that dense to very dense fog will continue during night and morning hours over Punjab until December 27. Similarly, Haryana and Chandigarh are expected to experience such foggy conditions from December 24 to 27.
Adding to the wintry mix, the IMD has forecast that a western disturbance will likely bring isolated to scattered rainfall and snowfall over Himachal Pradesh on December 22 and 28.
Mercury Plummets Across Northwest India
The foggy conditions are accompanied by a steady drop in temperatures. On Monday, minimum temperatures dipped below 5°C at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh. In Punjab and Haryana, temperatures at many places ranged between 5°C and 10°C.
A clear falling trend in minimum temperatures was observed over the past 24 hours, with a drop of 1-2°C at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The IMD warns of a more pronounced chill in the coming days, forecasting a gradual fall in minimum temperature by 3-5°C over Northwest India during the next three days. This cold spell is expected to hold steady for the subsequent four days.
Despite the recent fall, the average minimum temperature in Punjab was recorded at 3.8°C above normal on Monday, after a 1°C drop from Sunday. Gurdaspur was the coldest spot in the state at 7.2°C. In Haryana, the average minimum temperature fell by 0.1°C from Sunday but remained 2.2°C above normal, with Narnaul recording the state's lowest at 6°C.
