Cold wave grips north India

The cold wave intensified in north India on Thursday with snowfall in higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, while light rains in the national capital also caused chill in the air. Under the influence of a western disturbance, the city recorded light rains with strong winds for nearly two hours, said Kuldeep Srivastava, regional weather forecasting head of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

"The temperature is likely to drop from December 14-15 and reach single digit," he said. The minimum temperature in the city was 12.8 degrees Celsius while the maximum was 21.5 degrees, two notches below the average.

Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was 429, 'severe' category, at 4 PM. The relative humidity in Delhi oscillated from highest 89 per cent to lowest 75 per cent.

The high altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh including the famous ski resort of Gulmarg experienced moderate snowfall while the plains including the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar were lashed by rains since Thursday afternoon. The weatherman has issued an orange warning for the twin Union Territories for Thursday and Friday, predicting moderate to heavy snowfall and rain under the influence of Western Disturbance which had hit the region on Wednesday.

The 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed Thursday evening following moderate snowfall in and around Jawahar Tunnel, traffic department officials said. About one feet of snow had accumulated at the Tunnel on the Kashmir side till 7 pm, forcing suspension of the vehicular traffic on the highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with rest ofthe country, the official said.

Flight operations at the Srinagar airport also remained suspended for the sixth consecutive day on Thursday as all flights to and fro the Kashmir valley were cancelled due to poor visibility caused by fog, an official of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) said. Due to overcast conditions, the night temperature in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir marked an increase and settled above season's average but the day temperature fell several degrees below normal during this part of the season, the official said.

Srinagar recorded a maximum of 5.9 degrees celsius, 3.6 notches below the season's average and a minimum of minus 0.7degrees Celsius which is 0.3 above normal during this part of the season. Jammu recorded a high of 15.2 degrees Celsius -- 6.2 degrees below normal, and  a low of 10.5 degrees Celsius which is 1.3 notches above normal, the spokesman said.

Leh in the Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place with a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius and a high of 1.6 degrees Celsius. The whole Uttarakhand is in the grip of severe cold as the state received the season's heaviest snowfall on Thursday, leading to closure of schools in several districts.

The higher reaches of Garhwal Himalayan region is experiencing continuous snowfall since Wednesday night, an official said, adding that the plains have been lashed by rain. The Kedarnath shrine and Badrinath Dham in the state have also been covered in a thick layer of snow.

Due to the cold wave conditions, government and private schools in several districts of the state will remain closed on Friday. The state capital of Dehradun has been lashed by heavy rain since Wednesday evening and the streets are wearing a deserted look as people are forced to stay indoors.

However, due to the heavy snow, tourists are making a beeline for the popular ski resort of Auli in Chamoli district to indulge in skiing and snow boarding on the snow-covered mountain slopes. In Himachal Pradesh also, cold wave intensifies after rain, snowfall in many parts of the state, resulting in decrease in the maximum temperature by 7-8 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature in Kufri of Shimla district was recorded below freezing point. The high reaches of the state in Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu and Shimla districts received snowfall whereas several other areas of the state witnessed rain on Thursday, Shimla MeT centre director Manmohan Singh said.

Kufri, Narkanda and Kharapathar in Shimla district experience snowfall. Following rain and snowfall, the maximum temperature decreased by 7-8 degrees Celsius during last 24 hours.

The maximum temperature in Dalhousie was 0 degree Celsius. The MeT centre already issued yellow warning of rain and snowfall in HP on Friday too.

Night temperatures marginally increased in parts of Rajasthan and Ganganagar was the coldest place in the state with a minimum of 12.6 degree Celsius. In neighbouring Punjab and Haryana, the minimum temperatures, which had been hovering below normal at most places during the past few days, rose by a few notches.

Many parts in the two states including their common capital Chandigarh received light to moderate rain, a MeT official said. The minimum temperature hovered 3-7 notches above normal limits.

Chandigarh recorded a low of 13.3 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Amritsar's minimum settled at 10.8 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana and Patiala recorded respective minimums of 12.3 degrees Celsius and 13 degrees Celsius.

Night temperatures marginally increased in parts of Rajasthan where Ganganagar was recorded as the coldest place on Thursday with a minimum temperature of 12.6 degrees Celsius. In Uttar Pradesh, weather was dry with shallow to moderate fog at isolated places while Basti at 8 degrees Celsius was the coldest place in the state.