Cold wave intensifies in north India as Delhi, Srinagar record lowest minimum temperatures

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New Delhi: The cold wave sweeping through north India intensified at most places in the region on Saturday, with Delhi as well as Srinagar recording their lowest minimum temperatures of the season.

Many hill stations of Himachal Pradesh shivered at sub-zero temperatures as Lahaul-Spiti's Keylong was recorded the coldest in the state at minus 12.1 degrees Celsius. The mercury dipped across Punjab and Haryana too, with Adampur recording the lowest temperature in the twin states at minus 1.9 degrees Celsius.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in Rajasthan, with the state's only hill station, Mount Abu, recording a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, while isolated places in east Uttar Pradesh witnessed cold to severe cold conditions.

Cold wave conditions were also observed at isolated places in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Uttarakhand, west Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Dense fog was seen in isolated pockets in Punjab, east Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Tripura, it said.

The IMD had earlier said night temperatures would continue to be below normal in north India over the next week. In its forecast from 17 to 24 December and from 24-30 December, the IMD said the minimum temperatures would be below normal by 2-6 degrees over most parts of northwest, central and east India.

Icy winds from the snow-laden Western Himalayas continued to sweep Delhi, leading to biting cold conditions as the minimum temperature dropped to 3.9 degrees Celsius, the lowest this season so far.

"The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a low of 3.9 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal. The maximum temperature settled at 21.8 degrees Celsius," an IMD official said.

The city had recorded a "severe" cold day on Thursday as the maximum temperature dropped to 15.2 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal and the lowest this season so far. The minimum temperature is expected to hover around 5 degrees Celsius in the next five to six days, the IMD said.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar experienced the coldest night of the season so far at minus 6.6 degrees Celsius as other parts of the Valley reeled under freezing night temperatures.

The Valley is bracing for the 40-day harshest winter period, 'Chillai-Kalan', from Monday when the chances of snowfall are high and the temperature drops considerably.

The mercury in south Kashmir's Pahalgam settled at minus 9.5 degrees Celsius and in Gulmarg, at minus 9.2 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 5.9 degrees Celsius, Kupwara 6 degrees Celsius and Kokernag minus 6 degrees Celsius.

The Met department said there was a possibility of light to moderate snowfall on Monday and Tuesday at isolated places of Kashmir.

In Himachal Pradesh, Keylong, Kalpa, Manali, Solan, Chamba and Mandi shivered at sub-zero temperatures.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius, while it was minus one degree Celsius in Manali. Solan, Mandi and Chamba recorded their respective minimums at minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, minus 1.1 degrees Celsius and minus 0.4 degree Celsius.

Una, Kufri and Dalhousie registered zero, 0.8 and 4.7 degrees Celsius respectively. The minimum temperature in Shimla was 4.4 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperatures hovered around the freezing point at several places in Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh, the common capital, recorded a low of 4.3 degrees Celsius.

Punjab's Halwara shivered at minus 0.8 degree Celsius, while it was 0.6 degree Celsius in Amritsar. The minimum temperatures of Faridkot, Pathankot, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Patiala and Gurdaspur were 1 degree Celsius, 2.2 degrees Celsius, 2.6 degrees Celsius, 2.8 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees Celsius



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3rfxgVE
Press Trust of India

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