Jaipur, Jan 19 (IANS) The weather in Jaipur witnessed a sudden change on Monday afternoon as dark clouds gathered and gusty winds swept across several areas, bringing brief storm-like conditions.

The Meteorological Department has forecast the onset of winter rainfall in Rajasthan this week and issued a yellow alert for rain and thunderstorms in six districts on January 22.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has attributed the changing weather to an active western disturbance and an induced cyclonic circulation over northeast Rajasthan.

Light to moderate fog is likely at isolated places over the next two days.

Another strong western disturbance is expected to become active between January 22 and 24, bringing light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, and lightning to parts of Jodhpur, Bikaner, Shekhawati, Jaipur, and Bharatpur divisions.

Poor visibility due to fog also disrupted traffic movement.

Earlier in the day, light to dense fog was reported across many parts of the state. Fog affected visibility in districts including Jaipur, Kota, Alwar, Dausa, and Bharatpur. In rural areas of Bikaner, dense fog reduced visibility to nearly zero, while Tonk recorded visibility of around 50 metres. Cold winds once again led to a dip in temperatures in Bikaner and adjoining regions.

According to weather data, minimum temperatures remained above 10 degree Celsius in more than ten cities on Sunday, including Jaipur, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Kota, Udaipur, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Phalodi, Bikaner, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, and Jhunjhunu.

The lowest minimum temperature in the state was recorded at 6.1 degree Celsius in Karauli.

Meanwhile, maximum temperatures dropped by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius in several regions. Over the past 24 hours, skies remained clear in Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Kota divisions, while Jaipur, Bharatpur, and Ajmer divisions experienced partly cloudy conditions.

Due to cloud cover, minimum temperatures rose slightly in many districts. On Monday morning, an 18-wheeler trailer loaded with garbage overturned near the Sotanala flyover on National Highway-48 in the Kotputli–Behror district at around 7:30 am. The accident is suspected to have been caused by dense fog.

The overturned vehicle blocked the Delhi-to-Jaipur lane, resulting in a traffic jam stretching nearly four kms. Paniala police reached the spot promptly and began clearing operations using cranes and JCB machines. No injuries were reported.

–IANS

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