The ongoing cold spell will intensify further in major part of the country. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rain and snowfall in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh during the next 24 hours. The 40-day-long Chillai-Kalan to mark the onset of the harshest part of winter in Jammu & Kashmir began on Sunday.
The IMD has also predicted rain/thundershowers in costal Tamil Nadu and parts of Andaman & Nicobar Islands on Tuesday. Minimum temperatures in most parts of the country are below normal by 2 degrees to 4 degrees Celsius. The IMD has warned that dense (visibility 200 m or less) to very dense fog (visibility 50 m or less) over East Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places over north Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Assam & Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, would persist for the next two days.
The lowest minimum temperature of 0.5 deg C has been recorded at Churu in Rajasthan, in the plains of the country. Severe cold wave conditions sweeping across the State has affected normal life following northerly cold winds in most parts of the State for the past 24 hours. According to weather experts, cold wave conditions would further aggravate in the State in the coming week.
In Srinagar, mercury dipped further to record the season’s lowest of minus 4.4 degrees C. leh continued to be the coldest place in the State with minimum temperature at minus 13.9 deg C.
Meanwhile, Kargil recorded a low of minus 13 deg C. In Himachal Pradesh, cold conditions prevailed with lakes and other natural sources of water as springs, rivulets and tributaries of major rivers frozen in high altitude areas. Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh also got enveloped by fog with visibility less than 350 metres. The weather scientists have predicted that the day as well as night temperatures will continue to fall in the region in days ahead with no respite from foggy conditions.
The minimum temperatures varied between 1 deg C and 5 deg C below normal in the region. Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place with a record low of 1.6 deg C, four degrees below normal. The minimum temperature at Amritsar was 3.8 deg C.
Several parts of Telengana are also under the grip of cold wave. As per the forecast of the Met Department moderate cold wave conditions would prevail in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak, and Hyderabad for the next three days. The lowest recorded temperatures are in Adilabad (4 deg C), Medak, Nizamabad and Ramagundam (9 deg C). The drop in temperature is because of the winds from the north and the north-east, according to weather scientists.