Agencies
NEW DELHI, Jan 2: Mild rains in vast swathes of north India on Friday brought down day temperatures substantially while a fresh bout of snowfall occurred in hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, further intensifying the cold wave conditions.
In the national capital, day temperatures plummeted by 5.6 degrees to settle at 16 degrees Celsius, five notches below the season's average, after mild rain. According to MeT officials, 5.6 mm rainfall was recorded in Delhi.
A chilly morning, however, greeted Delhiites even as the minimum temperature rose by 2.2 degrees from yesterday, settling three notches above the season's average at 10.2 degrees Celsius due to overcast conditions.
Around 42 trains were affected in the region due to ripple effect of delays due to fog in the past few days, though flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here were smooth.
Similar weather conditions prevailed in Rajasthan, where day temperatures dipped by six to seven degrees Celsius in many places after rain. Day temperatures at many places settled between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius.
Minimum temperatures, however, recorded marginal rise with Sriganganagar being the coldest recorded place at 7.5 degrees. Churu, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jaipur and Ajmer also recorded above normal night temperatures at 9.2, 9.8, 8.6, 11.4 and 11.8 deg Celsius, respectively.
In view of the prevailing cold conditions, the state government has authorised district collectors to announce or extend holidays in schools.
Meanwhile, the higher reaches of Uttarakhand received snowfall while the plains were lashed by rains, with the sudden change in weather leading to a drop in temperature making people shiver.
Mountainous areas of both Garhwal and Kumaon regions including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Auli, Munsyari and Dharchula have been receiving snowfall since morning whereas plains including Dehradun, Nainital, Almora, Chamoli and Haldwani are being lashed by showers.
Cold wave conditions intensified further across Himachal Pradesh after higher reaches of Kinnaur, Sirmaur and Shimla witnessed another spell of moderate snowfall while the mid and lower hills received rains accompanied by icy winds. |
