Cold conditions persist in HP; weather dry in northern India

Piercing cold conditions today continued in the high-altitude areas in Himachal Pradesh even as the weather largely remained dry and warm in other parts of northern India, including in the national capital.
Delhiites woke up to a warm morning as the mercury settled at 10.5 degrees Celsius. A MeT official said the maximum temperature hovered around 25C in Delhi.
The minimum temperature tonight was likely to settle around 11C, the official said, adding the minimum temperature over the next three days would range between 9 and 11C.
The minimum temperature fluctuated marginally despite dry weather in Himachal Pradesh.
The MeT office in Shimla predicted rain, thundershowers or snow in the mid and higher hills between February 5 and 6. It said a western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region from February 5.

The mercury stayed 8 to 13C below the freezing point in the tribal areas. Keylong, Kalpa and Manali had a low of - 5.9C, -1.6C and 0.2C respectively.

In Punjab and Haryana, cold conditions continued even as the minimum temperature stayed few notches above the normal in several parts of the two states.
Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, braved cold conditions at 9.8C, three degrees above the normal, a MeT department official said.
The weather remained largely dry in Rajasthan.
The mercury witnessed an upward trend during the day, a Met department official said in Jaipur.
The lowest minimum temperature of 8.1C was recorded in Sri Ganganagar, followed by 8.9C in Pilani and 10.3C in Churu.

The maximum temperature in most parts of the state hovered between 25.4C and 30.2C, the official said.
The Met department has forecast the dry weather to continue in the state during the next 24 hours.