Mercury hits downward spiral in north; Delhi records new low of the decade
New Delhi: Scattered rainfall in the evening added to the intensity of the winter chill in Delhi after the city registered its lowest minimum temperature in a decade for the month of December at a chilly 2.4 degrees Celsius Monday morning.
According to MeT department, 1mm rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung while the Palam MeT station measured showers of 0.6mm at 8:30 P.M.
The weatherman has predicted partially cloudy skies on Tuesday with the possibility of rain and thundershowers in some areas by noon.
The minimum of 2.4 degrees today was five notches below normal. The mercury had settled at a low of 4.5 degrees on Sunday.
A thick blanket of fog accompanied by icy winds had made the city shiver in the early hours.
"Today's minimum of 2.4 degrees is the lowest in a decade in the month of December," a MeT official said. The maximum was at 19.7 degrees, a notch below normal, for this time of the year.
Following the rainfall, the maximum plummeted and was registered at 13.6 degrees at 8:30 P.M. Maximum and minimum temperatures tomorrow are expected to remain at 19 and 7 degrees, respectively, the MeT office added.
The mercury went into a free fall in northern India as temperatures plummeted across the region with Srinagar experiencing its coldest night of the season.
Minimum temperatures across the Kashmir and Ladakh regions took a tumble with several places, including Srinagar, recording their coldest night this season. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, saw the mercury dropping to -5.3 degrees from -3.7 degrees registered the night before.
Kargil in Ladakh was the coldest place in the state with the mercury at -18.9 degrees while Leh recorded its lowest minimum this winter at -17.7 degrees.
Himachal Pradesh appeared set for a 'White New Year' with the higher reaches of the state experiencing another spell of mild snowfall even as the mercury hovered around freezing point in the middle and lower hills.
The tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts received mild snowfall which caused a further drop in the mercury with the minimum ranging between -12 and -20 degrees in those parts. Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti and Kalpa in Kinnaur recorded lows of -8.9 and -5 degrees, respectively.
The sky remained partially overcast and icy, strong velocity winds swept the region, making the conditions favourable for rainfall and snow. The weatherman, too, hinted at a likelihood of rainfall or snow at several places in the middle and higher hills over the coming 48 hours.
Punjab and Haryana were grappling with the freezing cold with most places across the two neighbouring states seeing the mercury sliding to the season's lowest. Adampur in Jalandhar district of Punjab was the coldest place across the two states with the mercury settling at -2.4 degrees, the season's lowest there, which was six notches below normal.
Narnaul and Hisar in Haryana reeled under sub-zero temperatures of -0.5 and -0.1 degrees, respectively, both down seven notches from the normal. Bhiwani experienced the season's coldest night at 0.8 degrees.
The Union Territory of Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 3.4 degrees, three notches below normal. Neither was there any respite from the cold in Rajasthan where icy winds and fog continued to affect normal life. Churu was the coldest place in the state with a minimum of -1 degree.
The Hadoti region of Rajasthan, covering Kota, Anta, Baran, and Bundi, received scattered rainfall this morning as a fresh western disturbance hit the eastern parts of the state. A state agriculture department official said that the showers would be beneficial for standing rabi crops, especially wheat and mustard.
Meanwhile, cold winds today claimed the life of a patient who left Jaipur's SMS hospital without permission and was later found dead in a street near his residence, police said. The deceased, identified as Pyarelal (45), was a senior policeman.
The weatherman said that no respite from icy winds is expected in the coming 24 hours as inclement conditions would continue over the north-eastern parts of the state. Parts of Uttar Pradesh continued to reel under the cold wave with fog disrupting normal life at isolated places.
Night temperatures fell across the Gorakhpur, Meerut, Lucknow, Varanasi, Faizabad, Allahabad, Kanpur and Bareilly divisions with Muzaffarnagar recording the lowest minimum in the state at 0.3 degrees.
