NEW DELHI: North India is bracing for a chilly New Year’s Eve as nighttime temperatures in the region are expected to drop by as much as five levels over the next three days, IMD said on Monday, when a cold snap hit multiple states.
A cold snap is likely to hit parts of Delhi over the next four days as well, as icy Himalayan winds have started to blow towards the plains, meteorological authorities said.
The minimum and maximum temperatures in the national capital were set at 5.6 degrees Celsius and 20.9 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The IMD said cold snap to severe cold snap conditions are also likely in isolated areas over Uttar Pradesh. Isolated cold wave conditions are likely in Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha during December 30-31.
“… minimum temperatures fall of 3-5 degrees Celsius (probably) over northwestern India over the next 3 days (December 29-31),” said IMD. Thereafter, there will be a slight increase in temperature by 2-3 degrees Celsius.
An orange-coded warning has also been issued to states.
The IMD said cold snap to severe cold snap conditions are likely to be found in isolated areas over Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and northern Rajasthan on Dec. 28-30.
“Dense to very dense fog is likely in isolated foci over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh in the morning hours of December 31 to January 2,” added the IM D.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature dropped by 4 to 5 degrees in most of Rajasthan due to rains and snowfalls in the Himalayan region, an official with the Meteorology department said on Monday.
Radheshyam Sharma, director of the Meteorological Department, said the current effect of winter conditions is likely to continue through Dec. 31 in the state.
Due to an active western unrest in northern India for the past two days coupled with rain and snowfall in many parts of northern India, the minimum temperature dropped by four to five degrees in most of the state, he said.
The lowest minimum temperature on the plains on Monday was 0.6 degrees Celsius in Churu in western Rajasthan, followed by 1 degree Celsius in Bhilwara in eastern Rajasthan, Sharma said.
The lowest overall low was minus 0.2 degrees Celsius at Mount Abu.
The Met department has issued an alert for cold weather conditions in the divisional districts of Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota and Bharatpur for the next two days.
In Uttar Pradesh, very light rains and showers were witnessed in isolated locations over western parts, but there were no large fluctuations in daytime temperatures in the state on Monday, according to the meteorological department.
The weather remained dry in eastern Uttar Pradesh and mercury hovered around normal levels in all divisions of the state, he said.
The lowest temperature in the state was recorded at 4.1 degrees Celsius in Churk, while Jhansi recorded the highest temperature at 27.6 degrees Celsius.
In Jammu and Kashmir, many areas in the higher reaches received fresh snowfall despite an improvement in the minimum temperature across the valley, providing a respite from the cold for residents.
Fresh snowfall was recorded in many areas in the higher reaches of the valley and the Jammu region overnight, authorities said.
They said the famous Gulmarg ski resort in northern Kashmir recorded two inches of snow, while Pahalgam resort in the south and Sonamarg resort in central Kashmir each received around an inch of snow.
Many areas in the Jammu region also received fresh snowfall, they said.
Meanwhile, penetrating cold weather conditions prevailed over most of Punjab and Haryana, receiving rains overnight.
Fog reduced visibility in the morning in several places in Punjab, including Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Faridkot, Adampur and Halwara, they said.
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