Delhi braces up for severe winters over the weekend
Day after witnessing a cold Christmas, Delhiites are now bracing up for severe cold conditions in the days to come. According to the officials at the weather department, mercury in the national capital is expected to drop to 4 degrees Celsius on the weekend. According to Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department's regional forecasting centre, a "cold day" is when the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 notches below the normal. A 'severe cold day' is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 degrees Celsius below the normal, he said.
On Wednesday, Delhi's minimum temperature had settled at 6 degrees Celsius. The national capital also witnessed moderate to dense fog in the morning. The maximum temperature settled at 12.7 degrees Celsius, nine notches below normal, officials said.
With a continuous dip in temperature, Delhi has registered nine cold days, since December 16.
Meanwhile, authorities in Haryana have ordered the closure of all schools in the state in view of intense coldwave. In Haryana, day temperatures have been hovering between 11 and 15 degrees Celsius at most places, six to nine notches below the normal. The minimum has been in the three degrees Celsius and seven degrees Celsius range, which is three to four notches below the normal.
Mercury in Delhi to drop to 4 degrees Celsius on weekend
North India reels under intense cold conditions
Kashmir recorded severe cold conditions on Wednesday as the valley recorded sub-zero temperatures with Srinagar experiencing the coldest night of the season so far, the meteorological department said. The minimum temperature across Kashmir and Ladakh remained several degrees below the freezing point on Wednesday owing to a clear sky.
Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far as the minimum temperature settled at minus 4.3 degrees Celsius last night – 0.3 degrees down from minus 4.0 degrees Celsius the previous night, leading to freezing of water supply lines at several places.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 9.0 degrees Celsius last night – up from the previous night's minus 10.2 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 11.4 degrees Celsius as against minus 10.4 degrees Celsius yesterday.
Pahalgam, in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, was the coldest recorded place in the valley.
An official of the weather department said Qazigund – the gateway town to the valley - in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius – a decrease of nearly two degrees from minus 7.8 degrees Celsius from the previous night.
Kokernag town, also in the south, recorded a low of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in the north, registered the minimum of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said Leh town in the Union Territory of Ladakh recorded a low of minus 17.8 degrees Celsius – one degree down from minus 16.7 degrees Celsius on the previous night.
The MeT department has forecast mainly dry weather for the week ahead.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' - the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.
'Chillai-Kalan' began on December 21 and ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).
Also Read | Delhi records longest cold day spell since 1997; 'severe cold conditions' forecast
