Cold wave to continue till year end across north India, Drass freezing at -30.2 degree Celsius

New Delhi/Srinagar: Biting cold wave persisted in north India on Thursday as the mercury continued its downward trend and temperatures are likely to drop further in the coming days.

The minimum temperature in the national Capital was recorded at 5.8 degrees Celsius while maximum at 13.4 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal. Humidity levels shot up to 100 per cent. The city is likely to record its longest cold spell in December after 1997 as temperatures are predicted to drop further, the weather department mentioned.

Many areas in the city have witnessed 13 consecutive "cold days" since December 14, the last time such a long cold spell was witnessed in1997 when it recorded 17 cold days. The mercury is predicted to drop to 4 degrees Celsius on the weekend, the MeT said.

According to Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department's regional forecasting centre, a "cold day" is when the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 notches below the normal. A "severe cold day" is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 degrees Celsius below the normal, he said. The air quality in the city was recorded in the very poor category (349) at 4 pm.

Cold wave intensified in Punjab and Haryana as the minimum and maximum temperatures further plummeted in the two states.

Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place with the mercury dropping to 2.5 degrees Celsius. Hisar registered a minimum of 3.3 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature also dropped in Rohtak (3.4), Bhiwani (4.8), Sirsa (4.3), Ambala (5.3) and Karnal (6).

Bathinda in Punjab was the coldest place recording a low of 4 degrees Celsius. Faridkot (4.5), Ludhiana (6.6), Patiala (6.4), Halwara (5.8), Adampur (6.8), Pathankot (6.4) and Amritsar (6.5) too experienced a cold night. Chandigarh recorded a low of 6.5 degrees Celsius.

The severe cold wave and foggy weather conditions will continue to prevail in the two states over the next three days, the MeT said.

The Drass belt of Kargil district became the coldest place in the twin Union Territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh recording a minimum temperature of minus 30.2 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature across Kashmir and Ladakh remained several degrees below the freezing point, an official of the Meteorological Department said.