Rains likely in Delhi-NCR in next few hours, air quality ‘very poor’

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) was recorded as 394 at 5 pm, which falls in the ‘very poor category’. An AQI between 0-50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”. An AQI above 500 falls in the “severe-plus” category and calls for a public health emergency.

Here’s a brief of weather conditions across states:

Traffic suspended on Jammu-Srinagar national highway

The union territory of Jammu & Kashmir saw disruption of transport as traffic on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended on Monday afternoon after torrential rains lashed most parts of Jammu region and played spoilsport in the Lohri and Makar Sankranti celebrations.

Men walk at a park after moderate snowfall in Srinagar. (PTI Photo)

The inclement weather conditions also forced authorities to suspend helicopter services to and from the shrine of Vaishno Devi in Reasi district, officials informed PTI.

Fresh snowfall in higher areas of Himachal

The higher areas of Himachal Pradesh received fresh snowfall while other parts received light rain on Monday, the meteorological department said.

Himachal Pradesh police have issued a fresh advisory urging people to keep in mind weather alerts issued by the meteorological department while travelling in the state. In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Shimla police stated that the MeT department had issued an orange warning for January 13 and a yellow warning for January 16, for heavy rain and snow. In case of any help or information, one can contact 112, 1077, 8894728034 or 0177-2812344, it said.

Light rains in western UP, dry weather in eastern parts

Light rain and thundershowers were recorded at isolated areas over western Uttar Pradesh while the eastern parts of the state remained largely dry on Monday. The minimum temperatures were markedly below normal over Faizabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Agra and Meerut divisions while they were appreciably below normal over Gorakhpur and Moradabad divisions, and below normal over Jhansi division.

The lowest minimum temperature recorded in the state was 4 degrees Celsius at Bahraich.

Cold wave, rain in Rajasthan

Cold wave prevailed in Rajasthan on Monday as a few cities received rainfall, the meteorological department informed PTI. Till 8.30 am, Jaisalmer recorded 13.7 mm rainfall, followed by Sri Ganganagar (11.8 mm), Phalodi (7.6 mm) and Bikaner (5.44 mm), it said.

Bundi was the coldest place in the state at a low of 6 degrees Celsius, the MeT department was quoted as saying. The minimum temperature in Kota and Banasthali was 8 degrees Celsius each, while Alwar recorded a night temperature of 8.2 degrees Celsius.

Punjab, Haryana record above-normal minimum temperatures

Minimum temperatures above the normal range were recorded at most places in Punjab and Haryana on Monday. Coming as a relief from the ongoing cold weather conditions, the night temperatures were above normal for the second consecutive day, a meteorological department official told PTI

The minimum temperatures were 2-6 degrees above normal at most places in both states.

Chandigarh recorded an increase in the minimum temperature at 11.3 degrees Celsius, six notches above normal, the MeT official said.