People shivers as cold waves grips North India

Most parts in north India on Sunday continued to reel under cold wave conditions coupled with fog, with mercury plunging below the freezing point in Rajasthan's sole hill station Mount Abu. Delhiites woke up to a chilly morning with the minimum temperature dropping to 5 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal of the season. The maximum temperature was recorded at 20 degrees, MeT Department officials said, adding that foggy conditions in the morning was moderate with visibility recorded at 400 m. In Rajasthan, cold wave conditions revived with the state's sole hill station Mount Abu shivering below the freezing point. The lowest temperature at Mount Abu was recorded at minus one degree Celsius last night, six notches below normal, a MeT official said in Jaipur. Mercury plummeted by one to four degrees Celsius at many places in the state with north-westerly winds adding to the chill in Rajasthan. In Haryana, the Narnaul district recorded the coldest place in the plains at 2 degrees Celsius as cold wave conditions continued unabated in the state and neighbouring Punjab. Narnaul's minimum settled three notches below normal while Hisar also reeled under biting cold at a low of 2.5 degrees Celsius, which was five notches below normal. Cold conditions also swept Ambala at 6.3 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh city experienced a cold night at 6.2 degrees Celcius, two degrees below normal, the MeT Department said. In Punjab, Amritsar reeled under severe chill at a low of 2.7 degrees, down two notches, while Ludhiana experienced a cold night at 3.4 degrees. However, in Jammu and Kashmir, there was some respite from cold wave conditions in Kashmir as the minimum temperatures rose by several degrees across the Valley with the state's MeT department predicting dry and colder weather in the coming week. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 0.3 degree Celsius, an increase of four degrees from the previous nights low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, a MeT official said. The tourist resort of Pahalgam, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, registered an increase of over five degrees from minus 7.9 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at a low of minus 2.1 degrees Celsius. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 7.8 degrees Celsius, nearly three degrees up from the previous nights low of minus 10.5 degrees Celsius.