WEB DESK /NEW DELHI
Delhi recorded its coldest December day in the last four years with the weather office predicting further dip in temperature over the next two days. On Thursday national capital experienced 4 degree Celsius
The fall in temperature is because of cold wave conditions prevailing over northwest India, the MeT Department said, adding that the temperature is likely to fall further till December 22.
The maximum temperature was 22.3 degree Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The minimum, however, was four notches below the season’s average. Minimum temperature in December dipped to today’s level last in 2014.
The humidity oscillated between 100 and 42 per cent.
The Met office has forecast clear skies for Friday along with moderate fog in the morning and haze and smoke thereafter.
“Cold wave conditions are likely at isolated places. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover at 22 and 4 degree Celsius, respectively,” the weather office said.
On Wednesday, the minimum temperature settled at 5.2 degree Celsius, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 22.3 degree Celsius.
Cold wave conditions prevailed in north Indian states on Thursday and most parts of Punjab and Haryana recording temperatures lower than hill station Shimla in Himachal Pradesh.
Delhiites woke up to a chilly morning even as Shimla recorded a low of 6.3 degrees Celsius, higher than the minimum temperature in the national capital, the Meteorological (Met) Department.
Thursday saw cold wave conditions intensify in Kashmir as the minimum temperature dropped at most places and residents in some areas of the city reported freezing of water supply lines.
The night temperature dipped drastically in Leh district of Ladakh region as the mercury plunged nearly nine degrees Wednesday, the Met Department said.
The mercury fell from minus 6 degrees Celsius on the previous night to minus 14.7 degrees Celsius, a Met official said.
In Srinagar — the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir — the night temperature stood at minus 4.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, he said.
The normal for this time of season in the city is minus 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The official said Qazigund — the gateway town to the valley in south Kashmir — recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, while nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius and Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius Wednesday night, he said.
The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius Wednesday.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius last night, the official said.
The normal for this time of the winter in the twin resorts is minus 4.4 degrees Celsius and minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Cold conditions are expected to intensify as the valley braces for the harshest 40-day winter period called ‘Chillai Kalaan’, which will begin on Friday.