Severe cold wave, dense fog affect north, central, eastern India; snowfall in JK

A severe cold wave accompanied by dense fog conditions continued to affect large parts of north central and eastern India on Friday disrupting daily life and transport services while heavy snowfall persisted in the higher reaches of Jammu and KashmirIn Uttarakhand the holy city of Haridwar woke up to a thick layer of fog amid intensifying cold conditionsCold winds have been prevailing since morning forcing residents to seek warmth Vehicular movement on the national highway slowed significantly due to reduced visibility as the fog blanketed the cityIn Uttar Pradesh fog and cold wave conditions were reported across several citiesAgra witnessed comparatively lighter fog allowing clear views of the Taj MahalVisuals from the Taj View Point ADA showed the monument visible despite the fogAt the same time a layer of fog enveloped Agra city while Prayagraj was engulfed by a thick layer of fog amid intensifying cold wave conditionsDense fog prevailed in Kanpur where people were seen huddling around bonfires to keep themselves warmSimilar scenes were reported from Moradabad which woke up to a layer of fog as the cold wave gripped the cityVisibility also reduced sharply in Ayodhya where a dense blanket of fog covered the city while Varanasi continued to reel under cold wave conditions as visuals emerging from Assi Ghat clearly showedIn Madhya Pradesh a layer of fog blanketed Gwalior city as cold wave tightened its gripEastern India also saw severe weather impacts A thick blanket of dense fog gripped Bhubaneswar Khurda and several other parts of Odisha on the morning of January 2 2026 continuing the severe weather pattern that began on New Years DayThe India Meteorological Department IMD issued an Orange Warning for several districts including Khurda and Cuttack as visibility dropped to as low as 50 metres in many areasThe peasoup fog caused major disruptions across all modes of transport Operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport BPIA were affected due to poor visibility while several longdistance trains particularly those arriving from North India such as the Rajdhani and Neelachal Express were running three to ten hours late Visibility on National Highway16 remained treacherous The IMD said the conditions are expected to persist due to high humidity and low wind speedsIn Telangana a layer of fog was reported in parts of Hyderabad including Himayath Nagar as the cold wave gripped the city Fog also engulfed Hyderabad this morning amid intensifying cold conditionsIn the Kashmir Valley cold wave conditions continued as temperatures dropped furtherTourists were seen at Dal Lake in SrinagarOne tourist said We have been here for the past three days First we went to Pahalgam where we witnessed a little snowfall We celebrated our New Year here Srinagar but there was no snowfall The weather is pleasant and we are enjoying that there is no pollution here I liked it here and we are enjoying this weatherMeanwhile heavy snowfall continued in the Pir Panjal ranges of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir further intensifying winter conditions in the regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever