By IANS
New Delhi : People in northern India continued to shiver with temperatures dipping considerably below average in most of the region due to snow and rains in the Himalayas. The weather office warned that coming days could be colder.
People in the national capital battled the severe chill for the third day in succession, as the minimum temperature early Wednesday morning was three degrees Celsius, which weather officials said was five degrees below normal.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Wednesday was the coldest Jan 23 in the last five years. Last year the minimum temperature recorded on this day was five degrees.
As the chill continues unabated people surrounding small fires for warmth is a common sight particularly during early mornings and evenings in Delhi.
On Tuesday, the capital had a minimum of 2.6 degrees Celsius (five degrees below normal) and a maximum of 17.1 degrees (four degrees below normal).
“Snowfall and rain in the Himalayan region is (the) key behind the (cold) weather conditions here,” said an IMD official.
He said cold wave conditions are prevailing over many parts of northwest India and they are not likely to improve till Friday. The weathermen warned the situation might worsen in the coming days.
Though the capital city had a severe cold spell in the first week of January, last week the minimum temperature climbed a lot and touched the 14 degrees Celsius mark. On Jan 1, it was 2.6 degrees Celsius and dipped to 1.9 degrees Celsius the next day.
The condition in other parts of north India was no better.
In Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar the minimum temperature recorded Wednesday was minus 3.4, slightly warmer that Tuesday’s minus 5.3. Skies in Kashmir Valley were clear and the sun shone brightly.
“We have been experiencing cloudless skies for the past nearly 10 days that is causing fall in temperatures,” said T.K. Jotshi, assistant director of the weather office in Srinagar.
He predicted that rain or snow might hit Kashmir in the next couple of days brining respite to the people.
Adampur town near Jalandhar city in Punjab continued to be below freezing point with a minimum temperature of minus three degrees Celsius. The town, a major Indian Air Force (IAF) base, had recorded a temperature of minus five Tuesday.
Sikh holy city of Amritsar too continued with its freezing temperature of minus 1.8 degrees – just a shade better than Tuesday’s minus 2.4 degrees.
Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab recorded a minimum of 1.1 and 1.2 degrees respectively, nearly six degrees below normal.
In Haryana, Narnaul town recorded the lowest temperature at zero degree. Karnal and Ambala recorded 0.2 and 0.3 degrees respectively.
Chandigarh – the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana – recorded the season’s low of 1.4 degrees Celsius.
Moderate showers Wednesday morning resulted in mercury plunging to below six degrees Celsius in Bihar’s capital Patna.
The chilly weather forced people to confine themselves to their homes while roads in Patna wore a deserted look.