The severe cold waves that hit north and northwest India drove mercury to subzero levels in many places in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday.
Pahalgam (-9 degrees Celsius), Churu (-1.5 degrees Celsius), Kullu (-0.2 degrees Celsius), Amritsar (1.8 degrees Celsius) and the city of Jammu (2.9 degrees Celsius) remained among the coldest places in North India.
Wednesday was the coldest December day for Churu since 2008, according to temperature records from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
Similarly, the city of Jammu recorded one of its coldest December days on Wednesday. The Plains of Jammu previously experienced such conditions in 2014 (2.4 degrees), and the city has a record high of 0.9 degrees in 1998.
Pahalgam last reported such a cold December in 2013, when the recorded nighttime temperature was -9.6 degrees Celsius.
The Safdarjung Observatory in New Delhi registered 3.5 degrees on Wednesday, making it another cold day in December this year, IMD officials said.
“Such severe conditions are a result of the strengthening of the cold and dry north winds blowing in the north and northwest of India. Minimum temperatures in north and central India will drop 2 degrees until December 31, ”the meteorological department said in its latest forecast.
Visibility is likely to be poor due to heavy fog and the development of icy ground conditions in Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand until the New Year.
IMD also warned of continuing cold snap conditions in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Gujarat until January 1. Under the influence of the cold snap, some stations in Gujarat and Odisha have reported a significant drop in night temperatures.
However, the Met department has predicted that the cold snap will last in northern, central and northwestern India until January 1, after which it will subside and there will be a gradual increase in minimum temperatures of 3 to 5 degrees. Celsius.
.
