By IANS
New Delhi : The entire north India reeled under severe cold wave conditions Wednesday, as the minimum temperatures were considerably below average in most parts of the region.
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. The weather officials said it 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 Celsius.
As the chill continues unabated, people sitting around log-fires for warmth is a common sight in Delhi, particularly during early mornings and evenings.
The capital recorded Tuesday 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 up significantly 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 -3.4, slightly warmer than Tuesday’s -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, recorded a temperature of minus five Tuesday.
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.
The weather is southern parts of the country was dry with temperatures remaining at average levels.
The following are the maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall in major cities for the 24 hours till Wednesday morning, with figures in brackets denoting deviations from the average.
City Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Rainfall
(C) (C) (mm)
Delhi 15.8 (-3) 3.0 (-5) Nil
Mumbai 28.0 (-3) 12.0 (-4) Nil
Chennai 30.4 (+1) 21.9 (+1) Nil
Kolkata 26.1 (-1) 15.4 (+1) Nil
Ahmedabad 24.6 (-4) 11.8 (0) Nil
Bangalore 29.2 (0) 17.9 (+3) Nil
Bhopal 18.4 (+6) 6.8 (-4) Nil
Bhubaneswar 30.6 (+2) 20.0 (+4) Nil
Chandigarh 16.8 (-4) 1.4 (-5) Nil
Dehradun 18.4 (-1) 1.6 (-4) Nil
Panaji 30.3 (-1) 18.7 (0) Nil
Guwahati 24.2 (0) 10.7 (+1) Nil
Hyderabad 32.4 (+3) 19.4 (+4) Nil
Jaipur 15.8 (-7) 2.1 (-6) Nil
Lucknow 17.1 (-6) 6.6 (-1) Nil
Nagpur 30.9 (+2) 15.4 (+2) Nil
Patna 23.0 (-1) 12.1 (+2) 17.7
Pune 31.9 (+2) 9.6 (-1) Nil
Srinagar 3.2 (-2) -3.3 (-1) Nil
Thiruvananthapuram 33.1 (+2) 23.0 (+1) Nil