Mercury hovers near freezing point in parts of north India, Delhi shivers at 50C

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 for the day was recorded 20.9 degrees Celsius, two notches below the normal, said a MeT department official. Earlier, Delhiites woke up to a chilly morning even as visibility was obscured to as low as 400 metres by moderate fog in some areas. However, the day progressed to become pleasant with a clear sky. Humidity in air oscillated between 37 and 97 per cent. Meanwhile, the MeT office has predicted clear skies for Monday with shallow or moderate fog.

“The skies will be mainly clear. Shallow to moderate fog conditions would occur tomorrow (Monday). The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 21 and 5 degrees Celsius, respectively,” the weatherman said.

However, the national Capital, which was observing less polluted days, will again witness a rise in the pollution levels. Due to increase in foggy conditions, the pollutants will get trapped and due to the absence of any strong winds, smog will persist over the city on December 22 and 23 respectively, added the weatherman.

By December 24, the Western Disturbance will move away and restore the normal flow of dry north-westerly winds. Thus, after December 24, pollution levels may once again go down in Delhi and the NCR.

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 state of 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 experienced a cold night at 6.2 degrees Celcius, two degrees below normal, the MeT Department said.

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 the north Indian state of 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.