The India Meteorological Department on Sunday predicted that temperatures will remain below normal over many parts of Central India and adjoining areas of peninsular, East and North West India during the month of January.

On Sunday, the minimum temperature in Delhi dipped to 5.5 degrees Celsius, which is two degrees below normal, reported The Indian Express.

The weather department on Sunday predicted that minimum temperatures in Central and North West India are likely to fall by 2-4 degree Celsius in the next two days due to northwesterly winds from the Himalayas.

This may result in severe cold wave conditions in isolated pockets of northern parts of Rajasthan between January 1 to 3. Cold wave conditions will also develop in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during January 1 to 4 and in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi between January 1 and 5.

Very dense fog conditions are expected to prevail till Wednesday in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh.

The weather department also predicted that the monthly rainfall for January 2023 in North West India consisting of seven meteorological subdivisions (East Uttar Pradesh, West Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh) is most likely to be below normal.

The average rainfall over North West India from January to March based on data from 1971 to 2020 is about 184.3 mm, said the Meteorological Department.

The region receives about 18% of its annual rainfall from January to March, while Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in particular receive about 31% of their annual rainfall during this period. The winter rainfall is crucial for Rabi crops and water management over the region, said the weather department.