Delhi and other parts of India may experience “wintry conditions” by the end of the third week or beginning of the fourth week of December, GP Sharma, president of Skymet Weather Services, said on Friday (Dec 12).
“We expect these winters to lift…(in) the third week of December or maybe towards the end of the third week and the beginning of the fourth week,” Mint said.
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He added that “typical winter will occur” any time after December 20 or 21. The statement came amid fears of delayed winters in Delhi.
When to expect cold waves in Delhi?
GP Sharma said, “If the cold wave conditions are there at all, it will be in the fourth week of December. After about December 21, we can expect things to happen.”
“That’s when the typical winter sets in,” he said.
Will Delhi experience extreme cold waves this year?’
Extreme cold waves commonly occur after mid-January, the expert said.
Amid reports suggesting the possibility of “very harsh” winters this season, GP Sharma said harsh spells could be expected, as is the case in every winter, but would not be “outliers”.
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He said there are normally about five to six days of cold wave conditions in the season, and this year could add another two days or so, and “it might be a little more frequent, and that’s about it.”
Are late winters common?
The minimum temperature recorded in Delhi on December 11, 2025 was 8.6 degrees Celsius. However, the minimum temperature fell to 4.9 degrees Celsius on the same day last year, according to data recorded by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
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Explaining the weather developments, GP Sharma said that last year too, the “typical winters” started “a bit late”, after mid-December. “After that it kept pace and then it was good in January and February. Snowfall and rainfall are decent,” he said.
Why are winters delayed in Delhi?
GP Sharma said there were no active western disturbances yet to cause any “wintry conditions” in the plains or mountains.
“We expect any western disturbances to come after December 19 that will affect both the mountains and the plains,” he said. However, the IMD says, “From December 13, 2025, a new weak western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region.
He also said that La Niña conditions, along with normal changes in the climate pattern (due to global warming and other factors), have led to “moving the seasons behind the timeline.”
He mentioned that this is the year in a row for a La Niña.
“We had it last year as well. It was a very short and weak event. We have it this time too. The process is already underway. Current temperatures have already crossed the threshold or La Nina, which means the process has started.”
“Like last year, it will also be very short and weak,” he said.
