The northern belt witnessed plummeting temperatures today with Jammu and Kashmir's Kargil shivering at minus 19 degrees Celsius, even as Phulbani in Odisha recorded a low of 4.5 degrees Celsius.
The national capital, however, bathed in sunlight throughout the day and recorded a maximum temperature of 25.5 degrees Celsius, six notches above the season's average, making it a pleasant day for Delhiites.
The minimum temperature rose to settle at 9.1 degrees Celsius in the city, said a MeT Department official.
There was no respite from intense cold conditions in the Kashmir division as Kargil town in the Ladakh region continued to be the coldest place in the state.
In nearby Leh town, the mercury settled at a low of minus 13.8 degrees Celsius. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius.
The weatherman said the night temperature in Pahalgam -- the famous health resort which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra -- decreased from minus 5.6 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at the low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 6 degrees Celsius.
Kashmir is at present under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan', a 40-day harshest period of winter, when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum, and the temperature drops considerably. This period is followed by 20-day 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).
Phulbani in Kandhamal district was the coldest place in Odisha at 4.5 degrees Celsius. As many as nine places in the eastern state recorded minimum temperature of below 10 degrees Celsius, the MeT department said.
The state capital of Bhubaneswar recorded 12.8 degrees Celsius.
Adampur in Punjab recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius as the cold wave conditions prevailing in the state and neighbouring Haryana continued unabated.
Amritsar reeled at a low of 1 degree Celsius. Faridkot recorded a low of 2 degrees Celsius, while Pathankot registered a low of 3.7 degrees Celsius.
There was no let up in biting chill at most places in Haryana with Narnaul recording a low of 3 degrees Celsius. Rohtak and Ambala recorded respective minimum temperatures of 6.6 degrees Celsius and 6.8 degrees Celsius.
In Rajasthan, temperatures dropped at many places due to easterly winds. Fatehpur Shekhawati in Sikar district of the state was the coldest with a low of minus 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Sikar freezed at 0 degree Celsius, Churu at 1.8 degrees followed by 3 degrees in Mount Abu, 4.4 degrees in Pilani, 5 degrees in Alwar, 7.5 degrees in Jaipur, 8.7 degrees in Jodhpur, 9 degrees each in Ajmer, Bundi and Kota, 10.5 degrees in Bikaner and 11.4 degrees Celsius in Barmer, the MeT said.
Dense to very dense fog occurred at certain places in Uttar Pradesh, where Lakhimpur Kheri recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius, the weather office said today.
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