The districts under alert include Gwalior, Morena, Bhind, Datia, Niwari, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Satna, Maihar, Rewa, Mauganj, Sidhi and Singrauli. Foggy conditions were also reported in parts of northern Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, affecting early morning movement on highways and within cities.
While the state has been experiencing an intense cold wave, the Meteorological Department said the current cold spell is likely to remain steady for the next three days before intensifying again. A fresh Western Disturbance is expected to become active over the western Himalayan region from the night of December 17, with its impact reaching Madhya Pradesh over the following two to three days.
Minimum temperatures across the state remained below normal over the weekend. Pachmarhi, the state’s only hill station, recorded the lowest temperature at 5.2 degrees Celsius. Among major cities, Indore was the coldest at 6.4 degrees, followed by Bhopal at 7 degrees, Jabalpur at 9.4 degrees and Gwalior and Ujjain at 9.8 degrees.
Other cold pockets included Rajgarh–Kalyanpur at 5.6 degrees, Shajapur at 6.1 degrees, Mandsaur at 6.7 degrees and Rewa and Umaria at 7.2 degrees. Weather experts attributed the sharp drop in temperatures to active northern winds and a strong jet stream moving over northern India at a speed of about 176 km per hour at an altitude of nearly 12.6 km.
The department noted that December and January are the peak months for cold in Madhya Pradesh, with frequent Western Disturbances intensifying both daytime and nighttime chill. Severe cold conditions are expected across the Gwalior, Chambal and Ujjain divisions in the coming weeks, with cold waves likely to persist for up to three weeks into January.
