Biting cold persists across north India, temperature likely to drop further; Delhi registers 4.20 Celsius
TOURIST HOTSPOTS LIKE KUFRI, MANALI, SOLAN AND KALPA SHIVER BELOW SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES
Severe cold wave persisted as the mercury continued its downward trend across north India on Friday. While Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 4.2 degrees Celsius and maximum temperature of 13.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that this December could be the second coldest in 118 years in the national Capital as temperatures are predicted to drop further.
Twenty-one trains were delayed for a maximum of six hours in the north due to the weather conditions.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season with the city freezing at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, the regional MET office said.
The minimum temperatures across Kashmir and Ladakh remained several degrees below the freezing point owing to a clear sky, a MET department official said.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 9.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday night — up from Wednesday night’s minus 11.2 degrees Celsius, he added.
The night temperature at Pahalgam, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, witnessed a low of minus 12 degrees Celsius as against the minus 12.7 degrees on Thursday, the official said.
Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district was the coldest recorded place in the
Valley, he added.
Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 10.5 degrees Celsius, Kokernag town recorded a low of minus 7 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir registered a minimum temperature of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Leh recorded a low of minus 20.7 degrees Celsius, he added.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of the “Chillai-kalan”, the 40-day harshest winter period when the chances of snowfall are the most frequent and the maximum temperature drops considerably.
The “Chillai-kalan” began on December 21 and ends on January 31 but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long “Chillai-khurd” (small cold) and a 10-day long “ChillaiBachha” (baby cold).
Kufri, Manali, Solan, Bhuntar, Sundernagar and Kalpa shivered below sub-zero temperatures in Himachal Pradesh, a MET department official said, adding that Keylong recorded the lowest temperature in the state at minus 15 degrees Celsius.
The MET office has predicted snowfall in the middle and high hills of the state from December 31 to January 2.