No respite from cold in North India as mercury dips

New Delhi: Cold weather conditions continued to sweep the northern belt, as some parts of Kashmir Valley received another spell of snowfall on Sunday. Light rain occurred at isolated places over eastern Uttar Pradesh and in almost all divisions of Madhya Pradesh.

The national capital's minimum temperature dipped to 7.8 degrees Celsius as cold winds from snow-clad Western Himalayas swept through the plains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The mercury is likely to drop to five to six degrees Celsius by January 14 in the city, it said.

The cloud cover over Delhi has prevented a steep decline in the minimum temperature so far, the IMD said.

Meanwhile, some parts of the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar, received another spell of snowfall--an unexpected spell of back-to-back snowfall after light snow on Saturday and the heavy snowfall earlier in the week, officials said.

They said Srinagar recorded about an inch of snow till 8.30 am.

Some areas, especially in south Kashmir, also received snowfall which, however, stopped after some time, they said.

The officials said there were no reports of snowfall at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, and Pahalgam tourist resort in the south.

While the MeT office had forecast very light rains or snowfall at isolated places in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, there was no such forecast for Sunday.

There is no forecast of any major snowfall and the weather is likely to stay mainly dry till January 14, the MeT office said.

Srinagar city -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, up from minus 4 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Keylong and Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh continued to shiver at sub-zero temperatures, the meteorological department said.

The tribal Lahaul and Spiti's administrative centre Keylong was the coldest place in the hill state yet again at minus 8.8 degrees Celsius, Shimla MeT centre director Manmohan Singh said.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius respectively, he said.

Shimla registered a low of 5.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Meanwhile, the highest temperature in the state was recorded in Sundernagar at 23.2 degrees Celsius.

In Uttar Pradesh, Meerut was the coldest place where the temperature dipped to 8.8 degrees Celsius.

Weather is most likely to remain dry and shallow, while moderate fog is "very likely" to engulf isolated places in the northern state between January 11-13, the weatherman said.

People in many parts of Madhya Pradesh woke up to a foggy and chilly morning. Dense to moderate fog prevailed in large parts of the state, including the state capital Bhopal and Rajgarh, P K Saha, senior meteorologist at IMD's Bhopal office, said.

Bhopal received 4.4 mm rainfall, while Indore recorded 2.9 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Saha said clouds and drizzle caused by the westerly disturbances are likely to wither shortly, paving the way for a clear sky and chill.

The minimum temperature across the state is likely to dip by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius in the next two days, he said.

The official said Madhya Pradesh has witnessed three wet spells during the current winter season, including two this month. The state received rain for the first time this winter in the second-half of last month.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in Rajasthan, with Eranpura road in Pali district recording a minimum temperature of 4.8 degrees Celsius, the MeT department said.

Bikaner, Churu, Sikar, Jaisalmer and Barmer recorded minimum temperatures of 5 degrees, 5.1 degrees, 5.5 degrees, 6.3 degrees and 7.5 degrees Celsius, respectively, in the state.

Cold weather conditions also continued in Punjab and Haryana, while a thick blanket of fog enveloped many places in the region, reducing visibility.

Chandigarh, the common capital of both states, recorded a low of 9.4 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.

In Haryana, Ambala, Hisar and Karnal experienced their minimum temperatures at 7.5 degrees, 7 degrees and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab recorded their respective temperatures at 8.6 degrees, 8 degrees and 8.5 degrees Celsius, up to five degrees above normal, the official said.

A thick blanket of fog enveloped several parts of the states, including Chandigarh, Ambala, Hisar, Faridkot and Karnal, he added.