The Met department on Thursday warned of colder and foggier days ahead in large parts of north India as wintry conditions intensify, further affecting rail and air traffic.
“Monthly minimum temperatures in January 2026 are likely to be below normal in most regions of the country, however, some parts of northwest and northeast India as well as southern peninsular India are expected to experience above normal temperatures,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department (IMD).
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Minimum temperatures are likely to be 2-4°C below normal over most of the country except some parts of the western Himalayan region where they are expected to be 1-3°C above normal during the next two weeks. Cold wave conditions are likely over parts of Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan, North Madhya Pradesh, Interior Odisha, adjoining parts of West Jharkhand, North Chhattisgarh and South Uttar Pradesh.
Dense to very dense fog is “very likely” during night and morning hours over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha during the next 5-7 days and isolated pockets over Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan during the next 3-4 days.
In the last few weeks several trains and flights were canceled due to fog.
Normal rainfall (82-118% of long-term average or LPA) is expected across the country during January. Based on data from 1971 to 2020, the LPA for January is about 49.0 mm. However, sub-normal rains are likely over parts of North-West, East and North-East India as well as a few localized areas of Peninsular and Central India.
However, in the winter season of January to March 2026, most parts of North West, North East and Peninsular India are expected to receive below normal rainfall at less than 88% of LPA of about 69.7 mm.
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Some areas of central India and Uttar Pradesh are likely to experience above normal rainfall during this period.
Northwest India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, is the major wheat producing region.
“The lack of rainfall, especially in the northwest region, would not have much impact on the wheat crop as it is well irrigated, except in Himachal Pradesh,” said Ratan Tiwari, director, ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal.
India’s 2025-26 rabi or winter crop sowing has increased by more than 687,000 hectares to 61.43 million hectares as of December 26, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on December 29. Sown area is 1.13% higher than a year earlier.
The average coverage of the season is 63.78 million hectares.
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The increase in acreage was partly due to an increase in the acreage of wheat, rice, pulses and oilseeds. Wheat area was higher by 19,000 hectares and rice area increased by 189,000 hectares compared to the previous year. Pulses grew by 365,000 hectares, with gram registering a significant increase of 466,000 hectares. The area of oilseeds, led by canola and mustard, also expanded to reach 9.42 million hectares, an increase of 104,000 hectares from last year.
The data also show a mixed picture for other crops. Some legumes, such as field peas, saw small declines and some cereals saw differences in coverage, indicating region-specific sowing trends.
