Delhi, Uttar Pradesh welcome New Year with biting cold, dense fog

With the onset of the New Year on Sunday, various states across India woke up to a chilly winter morning. The minimum temperature in the national capital dipped to 5.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season`s average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Dense fog engulfs parts of Uttar Pradesh`s Moradabad, lowering visibility in many areas. As per India Meteorological Department, Moradabad will witness a minimum temperature of 6 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius while very dense fog will persist today. Meanwhile, in Madhya Pradesh`s Ujjain, a thick blanket of fog also engulfed resulting in reduced visibility.

"Minimum temperatures are in the range of 2-6 degrees Celsius over many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, north Rajasthan, and west Uttar Pradesh," said the IMD on Sunday. The minimum temperature was recorded at 10.7 and 10.2 degrees Celsius on Friday and Saturday in the capital city of Delhi.

The IMD predicted that due to light winds and high moisture near the surface over the Indo-Gangetic plains, dense to very dense fog is very likely in some pockets in the night and morning hours over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh during the next 2-3 days and in isolated pockets over Bihar during the next four days.