Intense cold wave to hit North India from January 7: IMD

NEW DELHI: Cold wave in North India will continue till January 2 and it will get intense from next week, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday.

The weather department also predicted light rain in eastern Rajasthan, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana between January 2 and January 6.

"Cold wave will continue in north India tomorrow. From January 2, the cold spell will decrease. Light rain is expected in eastern Rajasthan, Delhi, western UP, Punjab and Haryana between January 2 and January 6," IMD senior scientist RK Jenamani told ANI.

"An intense cold wave is likely to hit north India again January 7 onwards," he added.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory on Thursday was 3.3 degrees Celsius.

Speaking to ANI, Kuldeep Srivastava, Head, IMD's regional weather forecasting centre, New Delhi explained, "After December 12 western disturbances mostly affected the Western Himalayan region causing significant snowfall and rainfall over Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The cold North-westerly winds further approach towards Delhi NCR from Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh."

"The fog over Punjab and Haryana further increases the coldness of winds moving towards Delhi," added Srivastava.