Mercury dips to near freezing point in parts of north India

The northern states continued to shiver as the mercury dipped to near freezing point in some parts, while the weather department has predicted "cold to severe cold wave" in the days ahead, peaking on Sunday.
Cold wave continued unabated in Kashmir with Srinagar experiencing the coldest January night in the last five years and water supply lines and various water bodies, including fringes of the famous Dal Lake, freezing.
Rajasthan continued to reel under intense cold conditions with Sikar in the plains recording the lowest minimum temperature in the state at minus 1 degrees Celsius.
Churu recorded night temperature at 0.1 degrees Celsius, while Mount Abu registered a low of 0.5 degrees Celsius, the MeT Department said.

Intense cold conditions continued in the national capital even though mercury registered a slight increase.
Due to reduced visibility in early hours, 25 Delhi-bound trains were running late and eight had to be rescheduled, a senior railway official said.

The Safdarjung observatory, the reading of which is considered official for the city, recorded a low of 4.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average, a MeT official said, adding the Lodhi Road observatory recorded a minimum of 3 degrees Celsius.
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung was pegged at 19.5 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, "Cold to severe cold wave is very likely over at a few places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and cold wave at a few places over Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and interior Odisha during next 2-3 days."

There could also be normal rainfall activity during the next two weeks.
Severe cold conditions continued in large parts of Uttar Pradesh with the state capital Lucknow witnessing the coldest day in the past three years, recording a low of 0.1 degrees Celsius.
Punjab and Haryana continued to reel under intense cold wave with Narnaul being the coldest in both the states as it recorded zero degree Celsius.
Minimum temperatures remaining below five degrees Celsius in most parts of both the states, a MeT department official said.
Amritsar in Punjab experienced cold wave at one degree Celsius while Ludhiana and Patiala recorded their lows at 2.3 degrees Celsius and 3.4 degrees Celsius respectively.

Among other places in Haryana, Ambala braved cold weather at 5.6 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal while Hisar experienced bone-chilling cold at 1.1 degree Celsius, one notch below normal.