New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) People from north, and from west to the eastern parts of India were swathed in heavy woollens as mercury relentlessly continued its southbound dip Monday, but there was no respite in sight for the next two-three days, the weather man said.
The national capital Monday recorded a low of 2.3 degrees Celsius, the second lowest of the season so far. The coldest day of the season in Delhi so far has been Jan 2, when the minimum temperature was 1.9 degrees Celsius.
“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 outside,” 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 the minimum temperature reading minus 1.6 degrees Celsius.
The Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir was freezing with the minimum temperature in the regional capital Leh recorded at minus 20.6 degrees Celsius.
The plains of north India also have been in the grip of a cold wave for a week now.
The Darjeeling hills of West Bengal experienced their first snowfall of the season – also the first in many years. It brought new romance and joy to the honeymooning couples.
The minimum temperature plummeted further at most places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Ludhiana at 0.2 degree Celsius was the coldest place in the plains.
In Bihar, the minimum temperature ranged between eight and 10 degrees Celsius, while it was between six and seven degrees C in Jharkand.
Maharashtra in western India was far colder than is usual for this time of the year.
Usually balmy Mumbai saw a minimum of 12 degrees Celsius early Monday. The minimum had fallen to 10.2 degrees C early Sunday – the coldest in India’s financial capital for the past 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 C.”
The cold wave has now spread to central Maharashtra and northern Konkan. It is attributed to the northerly winds that are sweeping the region. The cold spell is expected to last for a week, said M. Rajeevan, director of National Climate Centre, Pune.
The following are the maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall in major cities for the 24 hours till Monday morning, with figures in brackets denoting deviations from the average.
City Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Rainfall
(C) (C) (mm)
Delhi 18.1 (-4) 2.3 (-6) Nil
Mumbai 27.5 (-4) 12.1 (-4) Nil
Chennai 32.4 (+3) 24.3 (+3) Nil
Kolkata 21.9 (-6) 12.3 (-2) Nil
Ahmedabad 25.4 (-4) 8.9 (-4) Nil
Bangalore 31.2 (+2) 19.4 (+4) Nil
Bhopal 22.5 (-3) 6.9 (-4) Nil
Bhubaneswar 24.0 (-5) 14.6 (-1) Nil
Chandigarh 16.0 (-5) 3.6 (-4) Nil
Dehradun 17.8 (-2) 5.1 (-2) Nil
Panaji 31.0 (0) 15.3 (-3) Nil
Guwahati 22.2 (-2) 11.5 (+1) Nil
Hyderabad 28.3 (-1) 13.2 (+1) Nil
Jaipur 19.8 (-2) 5.4 (-4) Nil
Lucknow 21.2 (-2) 4.4 (-4) Nil
Nagpur 26.5 (-2) 9.1 (-4) Nil
Patna 22.0 (-2) 9.0 (-1) Nil
Pune 25.7 (-4) 6.3 (-5) Nil
Srinagar 5.8 (+1) -1.6 (0) Nil
Thiruvananthapuram 32.5 (+2) 21.9 (0) Nil