New Delhi: As North India continues to remain in the clutches of dry cold weather for the last two weeks, India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a wet spell in North, Northwest and Central India around New Year. According to the weather office, a fresh Western Disturbance is likely to affect Northwest India from December 30, and under its influence, light isolated rainfall is likely over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha between December 31 and January 2.
Light to moderate rainfall is also likely over south Tamil Nadu and Kerala from December 30 to January 2 due to a fresh easterly wave. South Tamil Nadu may also receive isolated heavy rainfall during this period, IMD said.
In Himachal Pradesh, the minimum temperatures hovered close to normal and Kusumseri, in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest in the region at minus 10.4 degrees Celsius.
A thick blanket of fog enveloped several parts of Punjab and Haryana while cold weather conditions continued to prevail in the two states.
Punjab’s Bathinda recorded 6.2 Degrees Celsius, Ludhiana recorded 5.2 Degrees Celsius, Amritsar recorded 8.6 Degrees Celsius. In Haryana, Ambala recorded a minimum temperature of 6.9 Degrees Celsius and Narnaul recorded 6.5 Degrees Celsius.
As per IMD, dense to very dense fog conditions is very likely to continue during night and morning hours in many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh till December 29. Dense fog conditions are also likely to continue in isolated pockets of Odisha till December 28, over north Rajasthan, northwest Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura between December 28 and 31.
Meanwhile, four flights were diverted at the Delhi airport due to bad weather on Wednesday, PTI reported. Three flights of SpiceJet and one Air India flight were diverted to Jaipur.