Cold wave to intensify in North

Delhi logged 30.2 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Friday. The total rainfall received by Delhi in the month this year is 42.8 mm marking the highest rainfall in December in the last 15 years.

The maximum temperature also dropped to 9.5°C owing to the rain, marking the lowest maximum temperature in the last five years.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast severe cold day conditions will prevail in parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh on Saturday. The IMD in its forecast said parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and eastern Rajasthan will receive thunderstorms and hailstorms on December 28.

IMD has sounded a yellow alert for Delhi till December 30. During these days the national capital will receive light to moderate rainfall.

Dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail during early morning hours in isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh will also witness dense fog on December 29 and 30. Meanwhile, Punjab will be under the grip of fog till December 30. Haryana and Chandigarh will have foggy conditions from December 28-30. Chandigarh saw its maximum temperature come down to 15.9°C.

2024 set to be warmest year on record

The world experienced an average of 41 more days of extreme heat in 2024 due to climate change, a new report said on Friday. According to the European climate agency Copernicus, 2024 is set to end as the warmest year on record and the first year with a global average temperature 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.