Severe cold wave conditions continued unabated in several parts of north and central India on Friday with Delhi breaking a 22-year-old record. The minimum temperature was recorded at 4.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal in Delhi. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts some relief in the region from December 31 onwards.
Severe cold wave conditions have been recorded for 14 continuous days so far, surpassing 13 continuous days in 1997. According to the IMD, from December 29-30, the wind direction will change from northwesterly to easterly, which is likely to reduce cold wave.
In its daily weather report, the IMD said due to the persistence of cold northwesterly winds in the lower levels over northwest India and other favourable meteorological conditions, “cold day to severe cold day conditions” are very likely over many pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for the next two days.
North-East and central India has been reeling under a spell of severe cold wave conditions over the last week. The IMD also predicted snowfall in middle and high hills from December 31 to January 2.
The IMD said a fresh western disturbance is very likely to affect the western Himalayan region from December 30 night onwards and this will bring rain and thunderstorm in isolated pockets of north, northwest and central India.
“Dense fog at isolated pockets is also very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh during next three days and over north Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Odisha during next two days and over northeastern India during next 4-5 days and abate thereafter,” it said.
Under the western disturbance, major parts of northwest and central India are likely to experience fairly widespread rainfall accompanied with hailstorm at isolated places during December 31-January 1, it said.
As per the IMD, several parts of Rajasthan reeled under freezing cold with Fatehpur town in Sikar district recording a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius. Minimum temperature in Sikar was minus 0.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Churu (minus 0.6) and Pilani (minus 0.4).
The cold wave continued its record breaking spree in Kashmir as Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season with the city freezing at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature across Kashmir and Ladakh remained several degrees below the freezing point owing to clear sky. According to the IMD, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far as the minimum temperature in the city settled at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius last night - 0.6 degrees down from minus 5.0 degree Celsius the previous night, leading to freezing of water supply lines at several places.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded the low of minus 9.5 degrees Celsius last night - up from the previous night’s minus 11.2 degrees Celsius. The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 12.0 degrees Celsius as against minus 12.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
Pahalgam, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, was the coldest recorded place in the Valley.
According to the IMD, Qazigund - the gateway town to the Valley - in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 10.5 degrees Celsius - a decrease of nearly two degrees from minus 9.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
Kokernag town, also in south, recorded a low of minus 7.0 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, in north, registered the minimum of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius, IMD officials said. Leh town in the Ladakh Union territory recorded a low of minus 20.7 degrees Celsius, down from minus 18 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
Kufri, Manali, Solan, Bhuntar, Sundernagar and Kalpa shivered below sub-zero temperatures in Himachal Pradesh with the lowest temperature in the State was recorded in Keylong at minus 15 degrees Celsius, the IMD said. Low visibility due to moderate fog was observed in parts of Una and Mandi districts, it said.
Hisar in Haryana experienced the season’s coldest night as the minimum temperature dropped by six notches to 0.3 degree Celsius. The minimum temperature dropped a few notches below normal in Sirsa (2 degrees Celsius), Narnaul (3 degrees Celsius), Rohtak (3.2 degrees Celsius) and Bhiwani (4 degrees Celsius). While Ambala (5.5 degrees Celsius) and Karnal (7 degrees Celsius) in Haryana also experienced a cold night, in Punjab, Bathinda was recorded as the coldest place with a low of 2.8 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two States, recorded a low of 6.6 degrees Celsius.