The western disturbance’s ‘cold tongue’ (in the green and blue oval, top-left) swept down over Afghanistan and Pakistan with accompanying winds that moved deep into peninsular India on Tuesday morning. | Photo courtesy: www.windy.com
The parade of cold western disturbances entering northwest India is causing severe conditions in many parts of the region, largely coinciding with record-breaking Arctic blasts that have brought freezing weather to more than 20 US states in the far northwest, disrupting power, communications, transportation and normal life.
jet stream explosion
A Western Disturbance is a distant disturbance of the jet stream, or atmospheric river as it is called, that circles the Northern Hemisphere. Arctic blasts of cold are embedded in the jet stream and dump heavy volumes over the US during harsh winters, often penetrating as far south as Florida and the Panhandle, with active western disturbances even penetrating as far south as peninsular India.
peninsular region
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) today (Tuesday) morning detected a latest intense incoming western disturbance along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with its ‘tongue’ extending southwards to Muscat (Oman) and nearby North Arabian Sea, and strong westerly winds across Cuncolim-Bagalkot-Shorapur-Hyderabad in Goa; Karnataka; Maharashtra; And Telangana.
progeny movement
The intense flow has already created an upper cyclonic circulation over southwest Rajasthan which helps in withdrawing moisture from the Arabian Sea which may cause rain, hail, lightning and thunderstorm over northwest and adjoining central India. It has already formed a supporting trough from north-east Arabian Sea through Saurashtra to Punjab; Raw; And western Rajasthan will act as a moisture pipeline to the plains of north-west.
latest disturbance
In this context, the IMD has predicted the arrival of a successor western disturbance which will affect northwest India from Friday night (January 30). It has predicted heavy rainfall at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh; Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh; And Uttarakhand for today (Tuesday). There may be thunderstorm and hailstorm in Himachal Pradesh; Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh; Rajasthan; Uttarakhand and Western Uttar Pradesh.
storm warning issued
Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds (speed 40-50 km/hr) very likely at isolated places over Haryana; Chandigarh and Delhi; Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh; Punjab; Uttarakhand; And 30-40 km/hr in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. There is a possibility of rain and thundershowers with lightning at isolated places over peninsular areas like Central Maharashtra; Madhya Pradesh; And Marathwada.
cold wave, fog
Meanwhile, cold wave conditions may persist in Haryana; Chandigarh; Delhi; And Punjab. Cold day conditions are likely at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh. During winter the cold and warm phases are again modified by the passage of western disturbances. While moisture aloft warms the atmosphere, cold frontal winds moving at the tail end drop temperatures until the next westerly system begins.
Intermittently, moisture passing over cold surfaces also produces heavy to very dense fog from northwest India to eastern India depending on the arrival and passage of western disturbances from west to east.
Published on January 27, 2026
