'Don't drink alcohol', says IMD as cold wave expected in North India

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised people not to consume liquor as extremely cold waves are going to grapple north India this week.

The IMD said a "severe" cold wave is expected in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and northern Rajasthan from December 28 and there is an increased likelihood of various illnesses like flu, running nose or nosebleed which usually set in or get aggravated due to prolonged exposure to cold.

In an advisory, the weather department wrote, "Don't drink alcohol. It reduces your body temperature". Instead of alcohol, eat Vitamin-C rich fruits to counter the effects of severe cold, the IMD said.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the IMD, said the mercury will increase slightly on Sunday and Monday under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance affecting the upper reaches of the Himalayas.

The Western Disturbance will lead to "scattered to fairly widespread" snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

It must be noted that that the Safdarjung Observatory in the national capital recorded a minimum of 6 degrees Celsius as against 4.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

After the wind system withdraws, cold and dry northerly/northwesterly winds from the western Himalayas will bring the minimum temperature in north India down by three to five degrees Celsius, the IMD said.

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