The lack of snowfall in Himachal Pradesh this year has led to colder temperatures in Punjab and Haryana. The absence of rain in Himachal raises concerns for electricity, water, and agriculture during the upcoming summer. The state has experienced a 122-year record low precipitation, leading to dry conditions.
In Haryana and Punjab, today’s visibility is significantly reduced compared to yesterday. Amritsar’s visibility, which was 25 meters yesterday, is now at 600 meters. Similarly, Patiala and Ambala in Haryana have visibility reduced to 200 meters.
The weather department had issued a red alert for fog in various cities in Haryana, including Mahendragarh, Rewari, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Jhajjar, Gurugram, Mewat, Palwal, Faridabad, Rohtak, Sonipat, and Panipat.
In Punjab, red alerts for fog were issued in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Muktsar, Moga, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Barnala, Mansa, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Patiala. The weather department has also issued a cold wave warning for Chandigarh.
The next 4-5 days do not show signs of relief from the cold in Punjab. The weather is expected to remain dry, with a possibility of a temperature increase of up to 2 degrees Celsius after January 22.
Himachal Pradesh is facing the impact of drought during the winters due to inadequate rainfall and snowfall, resulting in reduced water levels in rivers. This has affected electricity production, with an 85% decrease in hydropower generation.
Light snowfall and rain occurred in Himachal Pradesh on January 17, with 43.1 millimeters of rainfall recorded until January 19. This year, only 0.1 millimeter of rainfall has occurred so far. The data indicates that 2024 has witnessed the lowest cloud cover since 1901, with a possible continuation of these conditions until January 24.
Major cities’ temperature forecast:
- Chandigarh: 7 to 20 degrees Celsius
- Amritsar: 6 to 16 degrees Celsius
- Jalandhar: 6 to 15 degrees Celsius
- Ludhiana: 6 to 18 degrees Celsius
- Ambala: 7 to 15 degrees Celsius
- Karnal: 7 to 13 degrees Celsius
- Shimla: 3 to 13 degrees Celsius
- Dharamshala: 5 to 18 degrees Celsius