Frigid conditions to persist in Delhi; winter rain likely on New Year's Day
New Delhi (PTI): A biting cold swept through the capital on Wednesday, with similar conditions likely to prevail on New Year's Day, while a spell of rain, which could be the season's first, is expected later in the night or on January 1.
The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 6.4 degrees Celsius, about 0.4 degrees Celsius below normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said foggy and cold conditions prevailed in the city during morning hours, followed by cold day conditions through the day, which are expected to persist into the night.
"A cold day is declared when the minimum temperature falls below 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature remains about 4.5 degrees below normal," an IMD official said.
A generally cloudy sky with light rain is forecast for January 1, with cold day conditions expected to continue.
"There is a slight chance of very light and isolated rain over Delhi and the NCR between tonight and New Year's Day due to an induced cyclonic circulation over Punjab and Haryana. If it occurs, this could be the season's first spell of rain," Mahesh Palawat of Skymet told PTI.
From January 3, coldwave conditions may develop as the minimum temperature could drop below 5 degrees Celsius, with cold northerly winds from the Himalayan region expected to move towards the capital, he added.
Meanwhile, visibility dropped sharply in several parts of the city due to dense fog on Wednesday.
According to the weather department, Safdarjung reported the lowest visibility of 50 metres between 6.30 am and 7.30 am, which later improved to 100 metres by 8 am. Palam recorded visibility as low as 50 metres between 4 am and 7.30 am, improving to 150 metres by 8 am.
IMD scientist Dr Naresh Kumar said dense to very dense fog has been prevailing over north India for nearly two weeks. "Dense fog may occur at isolated places in Delhi tomorrow morning," he said.
Explaining the weather pattern, Kumar said an active western disturbance is currently positioned over north Pakistan. "Due to its influence, light to moderate rainfall and snowfall will continue over the western Himalayan region for the next two to three days. Very light rainfall activity is also possible over the NCR region," he said.
He explained that fog forms when temperatures are low, winds are light and moisture levels are high. "When these conditions persist, fog stays longer during the day, blocks sunlight and helps cold day conditions continue," he said.
The IMD said dense to very dense fog is likely to persist in Delhi for the next five days.
For the New Year's Day, the IMD forecast generally cloudy skies with a possibility of very light to light rain at isolated places. Shallow to moderate fog is expected during the morning hours, with maximum temperatures likely to remain between 14 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius and minimum temperatures between 9 degrees Celsius and 11 degrees Celsius.
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791 drone intrusions along IB reported in 2025: Defence Ministry
New Delhi (PTI): A total of 791 drone intrusions -- nine incidents along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir and 782 along IB in Punjab and Rajasthan -- were reported during 2025, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
"Effective employment of own spoofers and jammers along the western front significantly countered the drone threat," it said.
During this period, 237 drones were brought down by the Indian forces along IB sector -- "five drones with war-like stores, 72 drones with narcotics and 161 drones without any payload", the ministry said in a year-end review statement.
"A total of 791 drone intrusions (nine incidents along IB in J&K and 782 along IB in Punjab/Rajasthan) were reported during this year," it said.
The ministry said the security situation in J&K remains "firmly under control" due to the relentless efforts of the Indian Army.
People have chosen to follow the path of development and has been actively participating in large numbers in all government and Army-run initiatives, it said.
The 'whole-of-nation' approach has resulted in "reduction in violence levels, scaled down protests and zero incidents of stone pelting".
The statement also underlined Operation Sindoor carried out on May 7 eliminating at least 100 terrorists in response to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocent civilians.
Indian armed forces had launched a series of precision missile strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under this military action, which resulted in a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan.
The hostilities ended with an understanding on halting the military actions on May 10 following talks over the hotline between army officials of the two sides.
"After the DGMO talks on May 10 and May 12, the situation remains stable though unpredictable. However, there has been an increase in Pakistan attempts to surreptitiously infiltrate terrorists through the LoC (Line of Control) and IB sector," the ministry said in its review.
"Pakistan attempted to activate Poonch-Rajouri region as a "hotbed for proxy war during the year 2023-24," it said.
Therefore, the deliverables for 2025 were clearly defined in terms of maintaining robust anti-infiltration grid, relentless conduct of operations in mid and higher reaches to dislocate or neutralise terrorists and reduce local recruitment of cadres by creating a conducive environment for development, the statement said.
"Security situation in hinterland continues to witness consistent improvement since 2019," it added.
Functionality of training camps, presence of terrorists in launch pads and continuing infiltration attempts substantiate Pakistan's "persistent intent to prosecute a proxy war strategy", the ministry said.
"Significant efforts are being made by Pakistan to exploit the IB sector not only to smuggle weapons and narcotics using drones, but also to infiltrate large strength of terrorists," it said.
The ministry further said in consideration of "ongoing operational concerns", sanction for emergency procurement in the niche technology domains of drone and counter-drone, weapon systems, precision ammunition, electronic warfare systems, surveillance systems, etc., was accorded.
"A total of 29 capability development schemes have already been contracted and another 16 schemes are likely to be contracted in December 2025," it said in its review.
On manufacturing of drones and achieving 'Aatmanirbharta' in ammunition production, the ministry said that "515 Army Base Workshop and select Corps Z Workshops/EME Battalions have established credible drone manufacturing capability using in-house expertise and collaboration with subject matter experts".
"The facilities are state-of-the-art, which meet the quality requirements of drones. A total of 819 drones (surveillance -193, kamikaze/armed/weaponised -337, first pilot view -289) have been manufactured till date by EME units".
