Welcomes 2026 with Rain: The New Year has dawned with starkly different weather for India’s major cities. The country’s financial capital, Mumbai, was greeted with heavy rainfall in the early hours. Meanwhile, the national capital, Delhi, continues to reel under a severe cold wave.
Delhi experienced its coldest December day in six years on New Year’s Eve. The intense cold has disrupted life across North India, with a cold wave persisting in Rajasthan and schools ordered shut in Uttar Pradesh due to the freezing conditions.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), rain is forecast today for parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, East Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir. Meanwhile, heavy fog is expected to severely reduce visibility to near-zero in several areas of Uttar Pradesh, including Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, and Bareilly. Dense fog is also predicted to linger over parts of Bihar, Punjab, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh.
In a significant response to the weather, authorities in Guwahati, Assam, have ordered schools to close for a week due to a sharp drop in daytime temperatures, aiming to protect children’s health. Cloudy skies, intermittent drizzle, and cold winds have created difficult conditions in the region.
A Slight Thaw on the Horizon?
There might be a minor respite from the bitter cold soon. The IMD predicts a slight rise in minimum temperatures over Northwest India in the next 24 hours. Similarly, central India may see night temperatures increase by 2-3°C over the next two days.
However, the cold is set to make a comeback. A fresh cold wave is likely in Himachal Pradesh between January 2-4, and over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi from January 3-5.
