Intense cold in north India, water supply lines freeze in Srinagar
NEW DELHI: It was freezing cold in most parts of the northern states on Christmas day, with Srinagar recording its coldest night of the season at minus 4.3 degrees Celsius that froze water supply lines at several places and Haryana government announcing that schools will remain closed on Thursday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) severe cold accompanied by fog is expected in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan on Thursday. The weather office said thundershowers are expected at some places in the plains and low hills of Himachal Pradesh.
On Wednesday, Narnaul was the coldest recorded place in Haryana at 3.2 degrees Celsius. Similarly, Sikar was the coldest in Rajasthan at 2.5 degrees Celsius and Keylong recorded the lowest in Himachal Pradesh at minus 12.4 degrees Celsius.
Also, Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-kalan' - the 40-day harshest period of the winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum temperature drops considerably.
In Delhi, moderate to dense fog was witnessed in the morning and the maximum temperature settled at 12.7 degrees
Thick fog covers a platform, at Allahabad Railway Station, during a cold wintry night in Prayagraj (Allahabad) on Wednesday
Celsius, nine notches below normal.
The weatherman said a cold wave is likely to hit the city as the mercury is expected to drop to 4 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
Since December 16, the national capital has registered nine cold days, equal to that recorded in 2003.
Cold conditions prevailed in Haryana and Punjab as well and is likely to continue for the next two days. Hisar recorded the second coldest temperature in Haryana at 4.1 degrees Celsius, after Narnaul.
Biting cold also continued in several other parts of Haryana, including Karnal (6 deg C), Rohtak (5 deg C), Bhiwani (5.7 deg C), Sirsa (6.1 deg C) and Ambala (5.5 deg C).
Faridkot was the coldest in Punjab at 4.6 deg C. Ludhiana at 5.5 deg C, Patiala at 5.8 deg C, Bathinda at 5.9 deg C, Halwara at 5.8 deg C, Adampur at 7.2 deg C and Amritsar at 6.5 deg C too experienced a cold night.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 6.9 degree Celsius. Most parts of Haryana and Punjab were engulfed by a thick blanket of fog in the morning.
Kashmir reeled under subzero temperatures with Srinagar experiencing the coldest night of the season so far.
The minimum temperature across Kashmir and Ladakh remained several degrees below the freezing point. In Srinagar, the extreme cold led to freezing of water supply lines at several places.