Cold conditions prevail in most parts of north India

New Delhi: Cold and foggy weather conditions prevailed in parts of north India on Wednesday with most of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh reeling under sub-zero temperatures.

Dense fog occurred at a few places over Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Bihar.

Odisha continued to reel under cold wave for the third day while the minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to four degrees Celsius.

In Kashmir, cold conditions intensified with most parts of the valley witnessing a dip in their minimum temperatures.

The weather has remained dry and cold across Kashmir since it snowed on December 12, with the night temperature staying several degrees below the freezing point, a Meteorological Department official said.

The weather department has forecast that the cold and dry weather would continue till December 25. The Valley reeled under sub-zero night temperatures as well, even though there was a slight improvement in the mercury at most places.

Srinagar - the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir - recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius, slightly up from the previous night's minus 5.2 degrees Celsius.

Some parts of Delhi were shrouded by fog.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum of four degrees Celsius, which was four notches below normal.

The Lodhi Road weather station recorded a low of 3.7 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD.

The Safdarjung observatory had recorded a minimum of 3.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the lowest this season so far.

The minimum temperature had increased slightly on Monday and Tuesday under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance affecting the upper reaches of the Himalayas.

In Himachal Pradesh, the tribal district Lahaul-Spiti's administrative centre Keylong remained the coldest place in the state at minus 7.7 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, while Manali, Dalhousie and Kufri recorded a low of 1.2, 3.7 and 4.1 degrees Celsius, respectively. The minimum temperature in Shimla was recorded as 6 degrees Celsius.

Cold conditions prevailed in Haryana and Punjab, with the minimum temperature hovering below normal limits.

Hisar in Haryana braved the chill recording a low of 2.7 degrees Celsius while Adampur and Ludhiana in Punjab also reeled under biting cold recording respective minimums of 2.5 degrees Celsius and 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar, Patiala, Faridkot, Halwara and Bathinda also experienced a cold night recording respective minimum temperatures of 3.4 degrees Celsius, 4.6 degrees Celsius, 4.1 degrees Celsius, 4.3 degrees Celsius and 5.2 degrees Celsius.

In Rajasthan, Sikar was recorded as the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.

Sikar was followed by Pilani, where the night temperature was recorded at 4.4 degrees Celsius.

Odisha's Phulbani in Kandhamal district registered a low of 4 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest place in the state.

Cold wave is likely to prevail at one or two places in 11 districts in the next 24 hours.

The mercury in picturesque Daringbadi in the Mountainous Kandhamal district also dropped to 5 degrees Celsius.

Light frost was reported from both Phulbani and Daringbadi on Wednesday morning.