Dense fog blanketed approximately 40 districts across Madhya Pradesh on Friday morning, significantly reducing visibility in areas like Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Ujjain. In Gwalior, visibility dropped to an alarming 100 meters, with a minimum visibility of zero meters reported at Gwalior Airport. Roads in Bhopal appeared wet due to heavy dew, while the mercury in Jabalpur remained stagnant at 8°C, contributing to particularly cold mornings and nights. Pachmarhi, the state’s only hill station, recorded temperatures below 4°C. Across the state, temperatures have fallen below 13°C.
The Meteorological Department has issued warnings of moderate to dense fog over the next three days but ruled out any immediate cold wave alerts. Meteorologist Arun Sharma noted that while fog conditions will persist, a rise of 2-3°C in minimum temperatures is expected after three days.
The current cold spell is attributed to snowfall in northern regions like Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh, which has driven cold winds into Madhya Pradesh. A jet stream wind, measured at 222 km/h at an altitude of 12.6 km, has further intensified the cold conditions. The melting snow in the northern regions is expected to strengthen winds and lower temperatures further, potentially prolonging the cold weather throughout January. A cold wave lasting 20-22 days is anticipated.
The recent cold wave follows a period of rainfall and hail caused by Western Disturbance activity in late December. Over 45 districts, including Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, and Ujjain, experienced rainfall, with 20 districts reporting hail. As the rains subsided, temperatures plummeted, making the last night of 2024 and the first two days of 2025 particularly chilly.
Dense fog conditions are expected to persist in cities like Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Neemuch, Mandsaur, Sheopur, Morena, Bhind, Datia, Shivpuri, Guna, Ashoknagar, Rajgarh, Vidisha, Sehore, Raisen, Sagar, Narsinghpur, Damoh, Niwari, Tikamgarh, Panna, Katni, Satna, Maihar, Sidhi, Mauganj, Singrauli, and Rewa. On January 5, similar conditions are likely to continue in these areas.
On the second night of the new year, temperatures in Pachmarhi dropped sharply to 3.4°C, marking a steep 7.6°C decline in a single night. Other districts, including Rewa, Raisen, Mandla, Naugaon, Rajgarh, Khajuraho, Umaria, and Guna, recorded temperatures below 7°C. Major cities also experienced a significant drop, with Bhopal at 6.8°C, Jabalpur at 7°C, Gwalior at 7.6°C, Ujjain at 9°C, and Indore at 9.4°C.
On Thursday morning, dense fog enveloped half the state, with visibility in Bhopal and Ujjain dropping to just 50 meters until 8:30 a.m. Visibility ranged from 200 to 500 meters in Narmadapuram and 500 to 1,000 meters in areas like Raisen, Khajuraho, Naugaon, Indore, Mandla, and Rewa. The cold persisted throughout the day.
Over the past 24 hours, weather conditions remained dry across Madhya Pradesh. Severe cold was reported in Raisen, while maximum temperatures rose significantly in districts of the Rewa and Jabalpur divisions. Night temperatures, however, remained steady or fell below normal in some areas, particularly in the Jabalpur division.
Dense fog disrupted visibility in districts such as Bhind, Morena, Gwalior, Rewa, Mauganj, North Satna, and North Chhatarpur. Moderate to dense fog affected Sheopur Kalan, Rajgarh, Datia, Panna, South Satna, Sidhi, and Singrauli, while shallow fog was observed in Niwari, Tikamgarh, Maihar, South Chhatarpur, North Shivpuri, Agar, and Neemuch.
