Punjab is battling a double blow of cold wave and fog, prompting the issuance of a yellow alert in seven cities—Ferozepur, Faridkot, Muktsar, Fazilka, Bathinda, Moga and Jalandhar. Several districts, including Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur, witnessed light fog on Monday morning as temperatures dropped sharply.
According to the Meteorological Department, Punjab’s maximum temperature fell by 1.1°C, while Faridkot recorded both the highest (26.5°C) and the lowest temperature (3.5°C). A western disturbance active over Haryana is influencing Punjab’s weather, further lowering temperatures in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir as well.
The next 48 hours will remain cold, with experts warning that minimum temperatures may drop another 2–4°C after two days. Fog is expected to affect visibility in several areas.
Despite the end of the paddy harvesting season, air quality has not improved. Mandi Gobindgarh recorded the worst AQI at 239, followed by Jalandhar (180), Chandigarh (128), Ludhiana (120), Patiala (105) and Amritsar (94).
Cold conditions and dry weather are likely to persist across Punjab for the entire week.
