North India reels under cold wave; Delhi records lowest temp in two years

Delhi reeled under extreme cold in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday as it experienced its lowest temperatures in the past two years at 2.8 degrees Celsius, which was lower than Dalhousie (4.9 degrees Celsius), Dharamshala (5.2 degrees Celsius), Kangra (3.2 degrees Celsius), Shimla (3.7 degrees Celsius), Dehradun (4.6 degrees Celsius), Mussoorie (4.4 degrees Celsius) and Nainital (6.2 degrees Celsius), according to official data.

Srinagar saw the second lowest minimum temperature for the month of January in the last five years on Wednesday. The city recorded a temperature of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius. Apart from Srinagar, Qazigund and Kupwara also experienced the season’s coldest night, according to the officials.

There is a possibility of light snow over scattered places towards night on January 7, with a 70 per cent chance of snowfall at many places of Jammu and Kashmir over a few days from January 8 to 13.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chilla-i-Kalan, the 40-day harshest weather period when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent.

Biting cold continued to sweep Punjab Thursday, with Gurdaspur recording a minimum temperature of 2.2 degrees Celsius. Haryana’s Hisar, too, recorded a minimum temperature of 2.2 degree Celsius.

In Rajasthan, the IMD has issued an orange alert, owing to extreme cold wave in many districts, including Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Jhunjhunu and Karauli, PTI reported.

As IMD predicted, dense to very dense fog with reduced visibility in Northern India, 12 trains have already been delayed by one-and-a-half to six hours, with more likely get affected in the upcoming days.

The upcoming days will likely remain dry except for some precipitation predicted in West Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep.

— With inputs from PTI