Severe cold wave alert for north :Across the northwestern plains, temperatures are expected to rise by about 2 degrees over the next three days.

Churu in western Rajasthan reported the lowest temperature — 0°C — on Monday in the northern Indian plains

A woman labourer wrapped in woolens in New Delhi on Monday morning. : PTI

TT  Special Correspondent   |   New Delhi   |  27.12.22 : India’s national weather agency has predicted severe cold wave conditions across parts of northern India over the next three days as minimum temperatures on Monday dropped five degrees below the normal at some locations.

The cold wave conditions are very likely in some parts of northern Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, over the next three days and in Himachal Pradesh over the next two days, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The agency’s evening forecast on Monday also predicted dense to very dense fog over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand and western Rajasthan over the next two days. But the fog is expected to persist over parts of Punjab during the subsequent three days. Churu in western Rajasthan reported the lowest temperature — 0°C — on Monday in the northern Indian plains.

The minimum temperatures on Monday fell to 5.1 degrees or more below normal in parts of eastern Rajasthan and 3.1 to 5 degrees below normal in western Uttar Pradesh, western Rajasthan, and 1.6°C to 3.0°C below normal over some parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Goa. But several parts of eastern and central India were warmer than normal on Monday.

The minimum temperature in Gangetic Bengal was 5.1 degree above normal and 3.1 to 5 degrees above normal in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, eastern Madhya Pradesh, and central India.

The IMD said it expects “no significant change” in minimum temperatures over many parts of eastern India on Tuesday, but the temperatures are likely to fall by two to four degrees thereafter.

Across the northwestern plains, temperatures are expected to rise by about 2 degrees over the next three days.