In northern India, the cold weather season begins in mid-November and stays till February. In the northern part of India, December and January are the coldest months. The temperature decreases from the south to the north. On the eastern coast, the average temperature of Chennai is between 24°–25° Celsius. While it varies from 10°C to 15° Celsius, in the northern plains. Some of the characteristics of the winter season are:

• During winters, days are warm and nights are cold.
• Frost is common in the north. While snowfall happens on the higher slopes of the Himalayas.
• During this season, the northeast trade winds prevail over the country. These trade winds blow from land to sea. That's why most parts of the country experience it as a dry season.
• Some amount of rainfall occurs on the Tamil Nadu coast from these winds as here they blow from sea to land.
• The winter season is normally marked by clear sky, low temperatures and low humidity and feeble, variable winds.
• The inflow of cyclonic disturbances from the west and the northwest is a main feature of the cold weather season over the northern plains.
• Peninsular India does not have a well-defined winter season. There is hardly any noticeable seasonal change in temperature patterns during winters due to the moderating influence of the sea.