December's cold was the trailer, there will be heavy snow-rain in January, read IMD update for North Indians

According to the Meteorological Department, there is going to be tremendous cold in North India between January and March this year. There is also a possibility of snowfall and rain. This is going to hurt the farmers the most.

Weather Report and Forecast: Icy winds blowing from the northwest direction increased the chill in North India from the first day after the New Year. Now the Meteorological Department has accepted that there is no hope of getting relief from the winter season at present. Within a week, two western disturbances will be active and there will be snowfall in the western Himalayan states. An alert for rain and snowfall has been issued in Himachal Pradesh till January 7. In Punjab, rain alert has been issued for three days in 12 districts. This will increase the difficulties in the coming days.

Due to the intense cold wave in many parts of India, fresh snowfall and more rains are expected in North India. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted "above normal" rainfall in January following an excess rainfall in December. The number of cold wave days is also expected to be higher than normal, it said.

Why the change in weather patterns?

This happened when 2024 ended with the rainiest December since 2001. The rainfall across the country was 73 per cent above the Long Period Average (LPA) with incessant rainfall over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. A total of seven western disturbances affected north India this month as compared to the usual four to five.

These extratropical storms are responsible for most of the winter rains in India, and due to their low activity, there was no snowfall in December last year. However, this time at least three storms were intense and brought widespread rain as well as the season's first snowfall, from December 7 to 10, December 21 to 23 and December 26 to 30.

How will the weather be in January?

IMD chief Dr M. Mohapatra said on Wednesday, "At least two consecutive western disturbances are going to affect north India in the first week of January. While the first disturbance is expected to be intense and there is a possibility of heavy snowfall in the mountains, the second disturbance may weaken slightly. Rainfall activity is expected to increase in the plains around January 5 to 7.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that dense fog and cold day conditions are likely to continue over some areas of northwest and central India during the next two days.

After that, the situation is likely to improve. Due to the activation of a new western disturbance from the night of January 4, there is a forecast of change in the weather of northwest India. Light rain and snowfall may occur in the western Himalayan areas from January 2 to 3, while rain and snowfall is expected to increase further on January 4 and 5. The minimum temperatures are likely to drop further between January 10 and 16, during which more cold spells are expected.

Where will it snow?

Many areas of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh have been experiencing cold and snowfall since December. In northwest India, the mercury hovered between 4 degrees Celsius and 9 degrees Celsius. Not only north India, but the southern peninsula was also in the grip of incessant rains. The monthly rains were astonishing. The active northeast monsoon, along with the low-pressure system and cyclone 'Phangal', have caused 185 per cent more rainfall than normal. Most of the extremely heavy rainfall was recorded in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. However, the IMD said the overall rainfall during January to March (for the entire season) is likely to be below normal, though some parts may still receive normal rainfall.