Icy winds whip northern plains; cold wave to intensify further

(Image: Reuters)

Several places in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) are likely witness a cold wave next week with the minimum temperature expected to settle around 3 degree Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said.

The IMD said that the cold wave will prevail over many places of Delh-NCR between January 16 and 18. The minimum temperature at Ayanagar and Ridge may settle around 3 degree Celsius on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Frosty winds whipped the plains of north and northwest India, bringing minimum temperatures drastically down in many areas. It is going to turn colder until western disturbances provide some relief starting on Thursday.

Pahalgam in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir registered a low of minus 10.9 degrees Celsius, down five degrees Celsius from a night earlier. It was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

At minus 4.7 degrees Celsius, Fatehpur in Sikar district of Rajasthan recorded the lowest minimum temperature over the plains of northwest India. Punjab's Faridkot shivered at minus one degree Celsius.

The Met Office said cold wave to severe cold wave conditions prevailed in parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and west Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.

Many parts of northwest and southeast Rajasthan recorded a minimum temperature of 1- 3 degrees Celsius. Parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and southwest Uttar Pradesh recorded minimum temperatures of 3-5 degrees Celsius, it said.

Churu, located near the Thar desert, recorded the season's lowest minimum temperature of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, according to the data available on the India Meteorological Department (IMD) website.

The mercury fell to 4.7 degrees Celsius at the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a minimum of 1.6 degrees Celsius. Ludhiana, Patiala, Pathankot, Bathinda and Gurdaspur experienced cold weather conditions at 4.9, 4.2, 8, 1 and 3.7 degrees Celsius respectively. The Union territory Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded 6.7 degrees Celsius.

The weather bureau said minimum temperatures are likely to fall further by about 2 degrees Celsius over many parts of northwest and central India till January 17-18 and cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are very likely over many parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, and Delhi during this period.

"Ground frost is likely at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan from January 16 to 18," it said.

Pahalgam in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir registered a low of minus 10.9 degrees Celsius, down five degrees Celsius from a night earlier. It was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

Night temperatures in most places of Kashmir settled below the freezing point even as the weather office has forecast a further dip in the minimum temperature over the next few days in view of dry weather.

Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday night, half a degree down from the night before, they said. The minimum in Kupwara, a frontier district, settled at minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, the officials said.