Cold Wave and Dense Fog Disrupt Uttar Pradesh: Schools Closed, Flights & Trains Delayed

December 18, 2025

Varanasi: Cold and fog continue to affect Uttar Pradesh. Dense fog has engulfed 30 districts including Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Ayodhya. Westerly conditions and moisture coming from Pakistan have further increased the cold. Bareilly broke an eight-year temperature record. Schools will remain closed till December 20 due to weather conditions.

Kanpur coldest, T20 match cancelled

Kanpur remained the coldest place in the state on Wednesday, with a minimum temperature of 6 degrees. Dense fog engulfed 50 districts including Lucknow, leading to the cancellation of the India-South Africa T20 match at the Ekana Stadium.

Air and rail traffic affected

Fog affected air traffic. Seven flights were delayed, one was cancelled and one was diverted. Six flights were delayed from Gorakhpur airport. From December 16 to February 15, 10 flights were cancelled and 42 flights were rescheduled from Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport.

Rail traffic was also affected. More than 50 trains were running hours late at several stations including Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Etawah.

School timings changed

School timings have also been changed. Schools up to class 8 in Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Jaunpur, Lakhimpur Kheri and Deoria will open at 10 am. Schools up to class 12 in Lucknow will start at 9 am.

Weather for the next three days

December 18: Fog in eastern and western Uttar Pradesh. Visibility reduced to 100 metres. Cold winds will cause cold.

December 19: Light fog in western Uttar Pradesh, dense fog in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Visibility 0-100 meters.

December 20: Fog in eastern and western Uttar Pradesh, visibility 0-100 meters. Clouds may also remain at some places.

Districts under dense fog warning

Deoria, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Siddharth Nagar, Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Barabanki, Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Mirbhanpur, Chandraaun, Varanpur, Sonal Ghazipur, Azamgarh, Kanpur Nagar, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Sultanpur.

Situation at Varanasi and Gorakhpur airports

10 flights have been cancelled and 42 have been rescheduled from Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, Varanasi. The first flight leaves at 7:35 am, the last at 9:45 am. Six flights were delayed by 30 minutes to 2.5 hours due to fog at Gorakhpur airport.

Major delayed flights:

Delhi-Gorakhpur SpiceJet: 12:36 pm instead of 10:50 am

Delhi-Gorakhpur Indigo: 12:31 pm instead of 11:40 am

Kolkata-Gorakhpur Indigo: 4:00 pm instead of 3:30 pm

Delhi-bound SpiceJet: 1:37 pm instead of 11:30 am

Delhi-bound Indigo: 1:25 pm instead of 12:10 pm

Kolkata-bound Indigo: 5:02 pm instead of 3:50 pm