Snow in the Himalayas, dense fog in the plains: What December’s weather means for holiday travel

A sharp winter spell continues to dominate large parts of the country as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an extensive weather forecast and warning bulletin highlighting dense fog, cold day conditions, falling temperatures and the possibility of snowfall and rainfall in several regions over the coming days. The All India Weather Summary and Forecast Bulletin, issued on the morning of December 24, 2025, indicates that winter conditions are set to intensify, particularly across northern, northwestern and eastern India, while parts of the southern peninsula and island regions will experience intermittent rainfall and thunderstorms.Dense to very dense fog has emerged as the most significant weather concern across the Indo-Gangetic plains, with Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi facing prolonged periods of poor visibility during night and early morning hours. According to IMD observations recorded at 0530 IST on December 24, visibility levels dropped alarmingly low in several locations. Cities such as Bareilly, Gaya, Agartala, Jharsuguda, New Delhi, Chandigarh and multiple districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh reported visibility as low as 50 metres, severely impacting road, rail and air traffic.The IMD has warned that dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to persist over these regions till at least December 29, making it one of the most prolonged fog spells of the season so far. Isolated pockets of Bihar, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and northeastern states are also expected to witness dense fog conditions on various days during this period.Dense fog has already begun to impact transport and aviation operations across northern and eastern India. Cold day conditions are very likely to prevail in isolated pockets of Bihar from December 24 to December 28. Minimum temperatures across several regions are forecast to fall further by 2–3 degrees Celsius over the next couple of days. Northwest India, Maharashtra and central India are expected to see a gradual drop in minimum temperatures over the next 24 hours, after which temperatures are likely to stabilise. East India and Gujarat are forecast to experience a similar temperature decline over the next two days.On the other hand, maximum temperatures remained suppressed across many northern and eastern states, while southern Kerala stood out with the highest recorded maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius at Punalur.Meteorological analysis indicates that an active western disturbance, visible as a trough in the middle and upper tropospheric levels, continues to influence weather patterns over North India. A fresh, feeble western disturbance is expected to impact the Western Himalayan region from December 27 onwards. As a result, isolated light to moderate rainfall and snowfall are very likely over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are also expected to receive light snowfall or rainfall on December 28 and 29. These weather conditions may disrupt travel in higher reaches, especially in mountain passes and tourist destinations.While much of the country grapples with cold and fog, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are likely to experience isolated thunderstorms accompanied by lightning on December 27 and 28. Gusty winds with speeds of 30–40 kmph are expected during these events.Southern India continues to see the influence of an upper air cyclonic circulation over south Tamil Nadu and adjoining regions of the southeast Arabian Sea. This system is expected to bring isolated to scattered rainfall over Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Karnataka over the next few days.