A ferocious cold wave swept through northern and eastern India on Saturday morning, forcing millions to brace for one of the harshest December starts in recent years, with the India Meteorological Department confirming significantly below-normal temperatures from the Kashmir Valley to Gangetic West Bengal.

In Kolkata, the minimum temperature plummeted to 14.5°C — the lowest reading of the 2025 winter season so far and 2.1°C below normal — catching residents off guard as misty mornings gave way to foggy evenings; the IMD warned that the mercury in Gangetic West Bengal will fall further over the next 24 hours before stabilising, while maximums struggle to cross the mid-20s.

Jharkhand emerged as the coldest state in the plains, with Gumla registering a stinging 3°C and Ranchi at 10.1°C, prompting authorities to issue a yellow alert for intense cold wave conditions across 11 districts including Garhwa, Palamu, Lohardaga, and Bokaro until 8:30 am Sunday; meteorologists attributed the sharp drop to persistent north-westerly winds and clear night skies, forecasting an additional fall of up to 2°C over the weekend.

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The Kashmir Valley remained locked in a sub-zero grip, with Shopian recording the lowest temperature in inhabited areas at minus 6.4°C, Srinagar at minus 4.1°C, Pahalgam at minus 4.4°C, and Gulmarg at minus 5.2°C; a thick fog layer reduced visibility to near zero in several stretches, while the MeT department maintained a forecast of mainly dry weather through December 7, with isolated light snowfall possible over higher reaches from Monday.

Compounding the winter misery, Delhi recorded no respite from toxic air as the 24-hour average AQI stood at 335 in the “very poor” category at 9 am, with Mundka hitting a hazardous 387; combined with a minimum temperature of 6.8°C — 2.7 degrees below normal — and humidity at 95 per cent, the national capital remained trapped under a choking cocktail of cold, fog and particulate pollution, forcing schools to restrict outdoor activities and doctors to report a surge in respiratory cases.

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