By IANS
New Delhi/Mumbai : People in northern India continued to huddle Monday from the icy winds blowing from the Himalayas, as the cold wave also engulfed the western region of the country. Weather officials predict no relief for at least two-three days.
The Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir was freezing with minimum temperature in the regional capital Leh recorded at minus 20.6 Celsius. The plains of north India have been in the grip of a cold wave for a week now.
The national capital Monday recorded a low of 2.3 degrees, the second lowest of the season so far. The coldest day of the season in Delhi so far was recorded on Jan 2, when the minimum temperature was 1.9 degrees.
“The cold wave will continue for another two-three days. Respite is expected at the end of the week,” Director India Meteorological Department (IMD) S.C. Bhan told IANS.
In Delhi, moving out on a chilly Monday morning was difficult for most people.
“I really did not want to leave my home. It’s freezing,” said Tariq Ahmed, an IT professional of south Delhi.
People were seen sitting around bonfires to warm themselves.
“It is too cold. I just didn’t feel like coming out of the quilt,” said T.A. Quadri, a bank employee who had stopped to warm up near a bonfire in the R.K. Puram area of the capital.
“I made my child wear four sweaters and two caps as it was so chilly,” said Sunanda Roy, who works in a publishing house in Delhi.
In Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar, there was a light snowfall Monday morning with a minimum temperature of minus 1.6 degrees.
There was a heavy snowfall in the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal.
The minimum temperature also plummeted at most places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Ludhiana at 0.2 degrees was the coldest place in the plains.
In Bihar, the minimum temperature ranged between eight and 10 degrees, while it was between six and seven in Jharkand.
Maharashtra in western India was far colder than usual.
Wine country Nashik recorded a minimum of 4.5 degrees, six below normal, affecting the crop.
Usually balmy Mumbai had a minimum of 12 early Monday. The minimum had fallen to 10.2 early Sunday, the coldest it has been in India’s financial capital for 45 years.
Director of weather bureau Mumbai Sathi Devi told IANS: “Sunday was the coldest day in Mumbai after 45 years when it recorded a temperature of 10.2 degrees.”
Pune recorded a low of 6.3 degrees, five below normal.
The cold wave has now spread to central Maharashtra and northern Konkan. It is attributed to the northerly winds and is expected to last for a week, said M. Rajeevan, director of National Climate Centre, Pune.