Winter has once again returned in Delhi-NCR. Due to the melting of snow on the mountains and the effect of western disturbance, cold winds have started blowing in the plains of North India. According to the Meteorological Department, cold wave may persist with dense fog in Delhi on Wednesday (4 February 2026). Cold will be felt more in the morning and late night.

The Meteorological Department has said that the effect of cold wave will be seen in entire North India including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar. There is a possibility of low visibility due to fog in many areas, due to which road and rail traffic may be affected.

Chances of rain and snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir

A slight increase in day and night temperatures was recorded in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. The minimum temperature in Srinagar was 2.8 degrees Celsius, while the mercury dropped to minus 5.3 degrees Celsius in Gulmarg ski resort. According to the Meteorological Department, a weak western disturbance is active at this time, due to which many areas may remain cloudy. There is a possibility of snowfall along with rain in high altitude areas.

Rain alert in Haryana and Punjab

The Meteorological Department has issued an alert of light to moderate rain with cloudy sky and strong winds in most parts of Haryana and Punjab. There has been rain and hailstorm in many districts of Punjab during the last 36 hours, due to which the cold has increased further. There is a possibility of rain in Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Rupnagar and Mohali in the next few hours. The minimum temperature here can be 5 to 6 degrees and the maximum can be around 22 degrees Celsius.

Fog wreaks havoc in UP and Bihar

Rain and hailstorm alert has been issued in about 25 districts of Uttar Pradesh including Agra and Moradabad divisions. There may be light drizzle along with thunder and lightning in Central UP. At the same time, the effect of winter continues in Bihar and there is dense fog in many districts. The Meteorological Department has advised people to remain alert in view of cold and fog.

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The cold wave is continuing in Bihar for the last 8 days. Especially in many districts of South Bihar and western region including Patna, Jehanabad, Gaya, Nawada, it is experiencing severe cold. In view of this, today (December 26), Patna District Magistrate Thiagarajan SM has given instructions to close educational activities in all schools from Anganwadi, Play School to Class VIII till December 30. Along with this, instructions have been given to keep all educational institutions above class 8 open from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm.

In Bihar, the mercury has started falling in many districts since December 20, in view of which the Patna District Magistrate had directed to keep play schools, Anganwadi to eighth class closed from December 23 to December 26. The cold has not reduced yet and the temperature is not increasing. Keeping this in view, Patna DM has taken a big decision.

Kankani continues with drop in mercury

Let us tell you that the cold outbreak continues continuously. The day temperature of 14.6 degrees Celsius was recorded in the capital Patna on Friday (26 December), with a drop of 3.8 degrees. The sun did not shine throughout the day and Kankani continued with the westerly wind. Samastipur recorded the maximum temperature of 15.4 degrees Celsius with a drop of 4.9 degrees Celsius.

Mercury also dropped in Madhubani, Darbhanga and Supaul

Apart from this, there was a drop of two to four degrees in the temperature in Madhubani, Darbhanga, Supaul, Muzaffarpur, Jehanabad, Motihari, Chhapra, Siwan, Buxar and the temperature in these districts was also around 15 degrees, due to which cold wave conditions were recorded throughout the day. In view of the cold, now the administrations of all the districts are seen in active mode.

Bonfire arrangements are being made everywhere in Patna.

Bonfires are being arranged everywhere in Patna. According to the Meteorological Department, there is no hope of relief from cold till 31st December. Especially many districts of South Bihar including Patna will be more affected by cold, hence people need to be careful.

Cold Wave Warning: Winter has taken hold in North India. Now the effect of cold is clearly visible in the morning and late evening. Cold wave warning has been issued by the Indian Meteorological Department in many areas such as East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. But the question arises as to how severe the cold wave warning is issued by the Meteorological Department. Also, how is this thing decided? Let us know.

Absolute minimum temperature as the first indicator

The first parameter of IMD is based on the actual minimum temperature recorded at a place. Like for the plains the border is absolutely clear. The temperature here should fall to 10 degrees Celsius or below. Apart from this, if we talk about the hilly area then it becomes even more dangerous because here a cold wave is declared when the temperature falls to 0 degree Celsius or below. Not only this, due to the mild winter pattern in the coastal areas, cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is 15 degrees Celsius or less.

second criterion

Every region has an established normal minimum temperature for each time of the year, based on decades of data. When the actual temperature drops sharply below this normal level, the Meteorological Department considers it as a possible cold wave. A fall of 4.5 degrees Celsius to 6.4 degrees Celsius is considered as a severe cold wave, while a fall of 6.4 degrees Celsius or more is considered as a severe cold wave.

Why are these two criteria needed?

Actually the climate of India is quite diverse. What is considered cold in Rajasthan is quite different from the cold in coastal Tamil Nadu. For this reason the Meteorological Department uses both criteria to avoid incorrect or misleading classification.

How does the Meteorological Department decide to issue a warning?

The Meteorological Department monitors temperatures through a network of local observatories, Doppler radar and real-time data systems. A cold wave warning is issued when one or more criteria are met for at least two consecutive days. These warnings are then published on the Meteorological Department platform and shared with the state authority for timely public advice.

Role of real time data in warning

IMD depends heavily on the latest updates received from automated weather stations. These record the continuously changing temperature. Any sharp or sudden decline is marked and checked against general climate data. This entire process helps meteorologists to detect early signs of cold wave conditions.

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