NEW DELHI: Bitter cold conditions persisted in most of north india Thursday, as minimum temperatures remained well below normal limits in several places in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
There was a slight improvement in cold conditions in Kashmir as the minimum temperature rose across the valley, even as the meteorological office forecast the possibility of light snowfall for two days starting on Saturday.
At national capital, the minimum temperature was kept below five Celsius degrees for the second day in a row, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum of 4.5 degrees Celsius, three levels below normal and a maximum of 23.1 degrees Celsius.
Cold waves are likely in parts of Delhi over the next two days and the mercury is expected to drop to three degrees Celsius on Friday. “Moderate to heavy” fog is also expected during the period, IMD said.
Earlier in the day “dense“The fog reduced visibility in parts of the city, affecting the movement of traffic.
In Haryana and Punjab, minimum temperatures remained well below normal limits.
Adampur in Punjab staggered under intense cold that registered a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius, while biting cold prevailed in Ludhiana also at 2.1 degrees Celsius.
Haryana, Ambala, Karnal, Narnaul, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Sirsa also recorded below normal lows at 5.7, 2.9, 4.6, 4.6, 5.2 and 6.3 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, registered a low of 4.7 degrees Celsius.
Keylong, Kalpa and Mandi of Himachal Pradesh shuddered in freezing temperatures.
The administrative center of the Lahaul-Spiti tribal district, Keylong, remained the coldest place in the state at minus 8.4 degrees Celsius, said Met Shimla center director Manmohan Singh.
Kalpa in Kinnaur and Mandi district registered a low of minus 2.2 and minus 1 degree Celsius, it added.
Manali, Dalhousie and Kufri it registered a minimum of zero, 4.3 and 4.5 degrees Celsius respectively.
The minimum temperature in Shimla was recorded at 4.1 degrees Celsius, he added. The Met Center has forecast rain and snowfall in isolated parts of the state on December 27 and 28.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the nighttime temperature marked an improvement but continued to settle below freezing, Met officials said.
The weather has remained dry and cold in Kashmir since the December 12 snowfall, and the nighttime temperature remained several degrees below freezing, they said.
Officials said Srinagar – the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir – registered a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, up from minus 5 degrees Celsius the night before.
Gulmarg it was the coldest place on record in the valley.
Kashmir is currently under the control of ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the harshest 40-day winter period in which the chances of snowfall are most frequent and greatest.
‘Chillai-Kalan’, which started on December 21, is considered the harshest winter period in Kashmir, as a cold snap takes over the region and the temperature drops considerably, leading to the freezing of bodies. of water, including the famous Dal Lake here, as well as water supply lines in various parts of the valley.
While ‘Chillai-Kalan’ will end on January 31, the cold snap continues even after that in Kashmir with a ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (little cold) of 20 days and a ‘Chillai-Bachha‘(cold baby).
The Met’s office has said the weather is likely to remain mostly dry through Dec. 25, but there is a chance there will be light in the valley for two days starting Saturday.
There is no forecast of any major snowfall activity until the end of this month, he added.
In Uttar Pradesh, a blanket of very dense fog enveloped isolated places.
According to the meteorological office in Lucknow, there were no major changes in night temperatures in the state divisions.
Nighttime temperatures were appreciably below normal in Gorakhpur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions, below normal in Ayodhya, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Kanpur divisions and normal in the rest, he said.
The lowest minimum temperature in the state was recorded in Muzaffarnagar at 2.5 degrees Celsius, while Jhansi, at 26.1 degrees Celsius, recorded the highest temperature.
The Met’s forecast said that the weather will most likely remain dry in the state and that dense fog is highly likely in isolated locations Friday morning.
Most of Rajasthan also teetered under extremely cold conditions and Churu was the coldest place in the state with a minimum temperature of 4.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Pilani, where the nighttime temperature was 4.9 degrees Celsius.
Weather conditions would remain the same for the next 24 hours, the official said.
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