There is a possibility of rain in the country's capital Delhi on Thursday (26 December). Due to rain, the air quality here may improve and the mercury may fall further in the areas around Delhi. The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 8.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. It may decrease further in the coming days. At the same time, due to fog in Rajasthan, normal life has been greatly affected. There is a possibility of cold and hail along with fog here in the coming days. Cold may increase due to rain in Uttar Pradesh.

Partly cloudy sky is expected on Thursday and light rain is expected in the evening. Meteorological Department officials said that the minimum temperature in Delhi on Wednesday was recorded at 8.4 degrees Celsius, which is 1.5 degrees below the average temperature of this season. They said that even on Christmas Day, Delhi's air quality remained in the "very poor" category. Delhi's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 336 at four in the evening, which falls in the "very poor" category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's air quality remained in the "very poor" category for the second consecutive day. Earlier it was recorded in the "severe" category. 

Dense fog predicted in Delhi

The humidity level in Delhi was recorded between 67 percent and 100 percent. Meteorologists have predicted dense fog in the national capital on December 25, 26 and 28 late night and morning. Delhi is also likely to remain partly cloudy and there is also a possibility of light rain in the evening or night. The maximum and minimum temperatures in Delhi are expected to be 23 and 7 degrees Celsius respectively on Thursday.

134 roads closed due to snowfall in Himachal Pradesh

A total of 134 roads including three national highways have been closed after snowfall in various districts of Himachal Pradesh. Due to the fall in the minimum temperature, people have been shivering in the bitter cold. Tabo in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state, where the night temperature was recorded at minus 10.6 degrees Celsius. Officials said that a total of 134 roads including three national highways including Attari and Leh, Sainj to Aut in Kullu district, Khab Sangam in Kinnaur district and Gramphoo in Lahaul and Spiti district were closed for traffic. 

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, Shimla district has the highest number of 77 roads closed. Besides, 65 transformers got damaged, affecting power supply across the state. According to the Meteorological Department, Bhuntar received 9.7 mm of rain, Rampur 9.4 mm, Shimla 8.4 mm, Bajaura 8 mm, Seobagh 7.2 mm, Manali 7 mm, Gohar 6 mm, Mandi 5.4 mm and Jubbarhatti 3.8 mm. The Meteorological Department has forecast rain and snowfall at some places in some parts of the state, especially Shimla, from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.

Possibility of increase in cold in UP

There was no fog across Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday due to rain caused by a western disturbance. Drizzle on Monday and Tuesday caused a significant drop in temperature in the last 48 hours, increasing the cold. According to the India Meteorological Department, the weather cleared up on Wednesday afternoon and this condition is likely to remain before rains start again from December 27. Lucknow recorded 0.5 mm of rain on Wednesday, leading to a drop in the day temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Due to sunshine in the afternoon, the minimum temperature in the city was recorded at 14 degrees Celsius, making the weather pleasant for Christmas. 

According to meteorologist Atul Kumar Singh, the temperature is likely to fall further from December 27 with a slight increase in night temperature. He said that the weather will become colder from December 29, due to which cold wave is likely to blow in the entire state during the day. He said that the Meteorological Department has issued a warning to farmers to take necessary measures to protect crops from possible rain and hailstorm. Due to recent rains, air quality has also improved in various districts of the state. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 182 in Lucknow, while Meerut recorded 178, Prayagraj 109, Agra 102, Gorakhpur 97, Hapur 93 and Kanpur recorded 78 AQI.

Dense fog in Rajasthan

Most parts of Rajasthan are experiencing severe cold where dense fog prevailed in many areas on Wednesday morning. According to the Meteorological Department, in the last 24 hours, light rain occurred at one place in eastern Rajasthan while fog and dense fog prevailed at many places. During this time, 'cold day' was recorded at some places in western Rajasthan. The lowest minimum temperature in the state last night was recorded at 6.6 degrees Celsius in Pilani and Ganganagar. According to the Meteorological Center Jaipur, due to the activation of a new western disturbance from December 26, light to moderate rain with thundershowers is likely in some parts of Udaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Jaipur, Bharatpur and Bikaner divisions. 

The maximum effect of western disturbance will be on 27 December and due to this, thunderstorms, rain and hailstorms are expected in some areas. On 28 December, light rain is expected in some parts of Kota, Bharatpur division and the weather is expected to remain mostly dry in most of the remaining areas. The weather will be dry in the state from 29 December and dense fog will prevail in some places. During this period, the temperature may drop.