Cold weather conditions intensify in some parts of north India

Cold weather conditions intensified in some parts of north India on Friday with minimum temperatures dropping sharply in Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, while a thick blanket of fog engulfed the national capital.

The maximum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 19.7 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, while the minimum temperature was at 7.2 degrees, one notch below the normal.

Visibility was reduced to 100 metres in several areas for a short period of time due to "shallow" fog in the national capital at 8.30 am, a Meteorological (MeT) Department official said.

Dense fog was also observed in some parts of Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh. The minimum temperature was below normal at most places in Rajasthan, and major tourist hotspots in Himachal Pradesh continued to shiver at below sub-zero temperatures.

In Kashmir, the minimum temperatures dropped owing to clear skies, even as the meteorological office forecast mainly dry and cold weather over the next few days in the valley.

Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.9 degrees Celsius, down over three notches from minus 0.8 degrees Celsius the previous night. The ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the coldest recorded place in the valley at minus 12 degrees Celsius, a drop of one degree from a day earlier.

In Himachal Pradesh, the weather remained dry and cold, as major tourist hotspots Manali, Kufri and Dalhousie continued to shiver at below sub-zero temperatures in the state.

The lowest temperature in the state was recorded in the Lahaul-Spiti's administrative centre Keylong at minus 13 degrees Celsius. The state capital Shimla recorded a low of 0.7 degrees Celsius, while the highest temperature was registered in Una at 20 degrees Celsius.

In Rajasthan, the minimum temperature was below normal at most places. Cold wave conditions prevailed in Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Alwar district.Sikar was the coldest place in the state at 2.5 degrees Celsius, nearly 4 notches below normal.

The night temperature in Sri Ganganagar was 5 degrees Celsius, followed by Churu 5.2 and Pilani 5.9.

Cold weather conditions intensified in most parts of Haryana and Punjab as the minimum temperatures dropped sharply, with Bathinda reeling at 2.9 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest place in the two states.

Bathinda in Punjab was colder by five notches against the normal limits. In neighbouring Haryana, Hisar was the coldest place recording a low of 3.3 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal while Narnaul, reeled under biting chill at 3.8 degrees Celsius.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, also recorded a low of 8 degrees Celsius.

In Uttar Pradesh, fog occurred at isolated places over the western parts of the state. Muzaffarnagar was the coldest place in the state, where the minimum temperature dropped to 5.2 degrees Celsius.

State capital Lucknow recorded a minimum temperature of 8.1 degrees Celsius, and a maximum of 21.9 degrees Celsius.

The weather is most likely to remain dry and shallow. Moderate fog is very likely in the state on February 1, the weather office said.

The weatherman has forecast dense to very dense fog very likely at few places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and dense fog at isolated places over west Uttar Pradesh.

Rains occurred at many places over Assam and Meghalaya, at a few places over West Bengal and Sikkim and at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam.