Cold weather grips MP as temps fall & districts issue fresh alerts

Madhya Pradesh woke up to sharp cold on Wednesday as fog covered parts of Bhopal and nearby areas. For three straight days, the city stayed near 8 degrees Celsius. The cold held firm across the state, pressing into mornings and staying through the night.

Nine cities reported minimum temperatures below 10 degrees. Rajgarh touched 7 degrees, the lowest in the state. The weather office issued a cold wave alert for 23 districts, including Bhopal and Indore, for the next four days.

Collector Rituraj Singh in Dewas changed school timings to protect students from the morning chill. “No school from nursery to class 12 will open before 10 am,” he said. The order took effect at once.

Cold weather grips MP

Weather expert P. K. Shah said the early activity of a western disturbance pushed cold air from the Himalayas into Madhya Pradesh. He pointed to snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. “The wind moving from north to south is hitting the state directly,” he said.

The weather office noted that the cold began in the western parts of the state in recent days. Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Chambal and Narmadapuram felt the drop first. Now the eastern belt, including Jabalpur, Sagar, Rewa and Shahdol, is dropping fast as well.

Striking comparisons came in from the hills. Shimla, Dehradun and Mussoorie reported higher temperatures than many cities in Madhya Pradesh. People in the plains faced colder nights than those in the mountains.

The season broke records in the second week of November. Bhopal hit its lowest November temperature since 2015 at 8 degrees. Indore fell to 7 degrees, the lowest in 25 years for November. The long-term November record for Indore stands at 5.6 degrees from 1938.

Pachmarhi, the state’s lone hill station, stayed warmer at night. It recorded 13.8 degrees, but daytime readings slipped to 23.6 degrees. Many other cities, including Betul, Dhar, Raisen, Sidhi and Malajkhand, stayed under 27 degrees during the day.

Cold set to intensify statewide

Bhopal touched 8.3 degrees on the night of November 10 and 11. The weather office said the pattern of the past decade shows cold and occasional rain in November. This year followed the same trend. October also saw higher than normal rainfall, with 2.8 inches recorded against the usual 1.3.

Late October brought sharp drops. Bhopal saw a 24-degree day on October 30, the coldest October day in 25 years. Ujjain, Chhatarpur and Narsinghpur also dipped below 24 degrees.

The weather office expects the cold to deepen in the second half of November. Northern winds will push harder into the Gwalior-Chambal belt. Gwalior once recorded 3 degrees in November, a figure from 56 years ago. Ujjain touched 2.3 degrees 52 years ago. Rain may form in Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur in the third and fourth week of the month.

Jabalpur 10-Day Forecast

Bhopal 10-Day Forecast

Indore 10-Day Forecast

Gwalior 10-Day Forecast

The cold wave has affected daily routines, from school schedules to morning markets. The Meteorological Department recommends wearing warm clothing, especially for children and the older people. With the winter season starting early, residents should brace for a long and chilly spell ahead.

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