Delhi witnessed its coldest morning of the season on Tuesday as temperatures dipped to 3°C, while large parts of north India slipped into near-freezing conditions, prompting the highest level of weather alerts for Punjab and Haryana.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi’s minimum temperature was recorded at 3°C — about 4.4 degrees below normal — with morning humidity touching 100 per cent. Daytime temperatures offered little relief, with the maximum reaching 20.6°C, only slightly above average. Dense fog reduced visibility across several areas of Delhi-NCR, disrupting early-morning movement.
The cold wave intensified further north, where the Meteorological Centre in Chandigarh issued a red alert for Punjab and Haryana, warning of severe cold wave conditions accompanied by dense fog. For the first time this season, temperatures in the region touched the freezing mark. Bathinda recorded a low of 0.6°C, while Amritsar and Faridkot saw minimum temperatures of 1°C. In Haryana, Sirsa, Sonipat, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh also reported lows of around 1°C.
Despite the red alert, the IMD stated that yellow alerts will remain in effect until January 17, indicating a prolonged spell of harsh winter conditions. The impact was clearly visible on the ground.
Widespread frost and ice formation were reported across Gurugram’s outskirts, with temperatures dipping to minus 0.9°C in some suburbs, according to residents and local weather experts. Several parts of the Delhi-NCR region also witnessed frost, a rare occurrence that highlighted the severity of the cold wave.
The chill extended deeper into Rajasthan, where Fatehpur Shekhawati in Sikar district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1.9°C. Frost blanketed fields, trees, water pipelines and farming equipment, while dense fog and icy winds disrupted daily life. Road and rail travel saw reduced passenger movement, and farmers expressed concern over frost damage to mustard and vegetable crops such as chilli, tomato and tinda.
IMD officials attributed the persistent cold to a western disturbance and an upper-air cyclonic circulation over north Haryana. Minimum temperatures are expected to remain well below normal for the next two days, followed by a gradual rise of 2–4°C. Cold wave conditions are likely in parts of Delhi on January 13 and at isolated locations on January 14, with dense fog continuing during morning hours.
