Churu shivers at 1.7 degree C
There was no respite from the shivering icy winds in Rajasthan as Churu remained the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 1.7 degrees C, about 5 degrees below normal.
Fog and mist continued to affect normal life and vehicular traffic across the state despite the mercury rose to one to two degree C at many places last night, the official said.
About five trains of NWR were running late and traffic jams were observed due to mist or dense fog in wee hours on Wednesday on Jaipur-Delhi, Jaipur-Agra via Bharatpur, the official sources said.
Sole hill station Mount Abu recorded the lowest temperature at 4 degrees C giving little respite to tourists.
Ganganagar recorded a minimum of 4.3 deg C, Pilani 4.7 deg C, Jaipur 5.7 deg C, Udaipur 6 deg C, Chittorgarh 6.2 deg C, Ajmer 7.3 deg C, Kota 8.7 deg C, Jodhpur 9.1 deg C, and Jaisalmer 10.2 degrees C.
There would be no major change in the existing weather conditions in the state in next 24 hours, a MeT forecast said.
Purulia in grip of severe cold wave
Purulia district in West Bengal is in the grip of a severe cold wave and has recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 5.6 degree Celsius on Wednesday, official sources said.
District Magistrate Tanmay Chakraborty said Purulia has been experiencing a severe cold wave and the minimum temperature recorded was only 5.6 degree Celsius.
He said the district administration has issued a warning to the people about the cold wave and have requested them to stay indoors and go out only when they have some work.
Local people said the minimum temperature of 5.6 degree Celsius is the lowest temperature recorded in the district in the last many years.
Unofficial sources said three persons have died of cold wave in the Baghmundi, Balrampur and Bandwan area of the district. However, official sources refused to confirm the cold wave death.
Slight relief from cold in Kashmir
Residents of Kashmir got a slight respite from the intense cold wave conditions as the mercury rose in most parts of the Valley due to overcast conditions, leading to the possibility of fresh snowfall.
An official of the Met Department here said a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the weather across the state from Wednesday, with the possibility of snowfall in some places of Jammu division as well.
“A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the state from today for three days with its main activity on January 9,” the official said.
He said under the influence of this weather system, moderate to heavy snowfall would occur at many places in Kashmir and Jammu divisions and at a few places in Ladakh region, particularly in Zogila, Drass and Kargil hilly areas.
Isolated places may receive very heavy snowfall, he added.
The official said the weather may disrupt surface and air transport and day temperatures may fall by five to six degrees, while the night temperature may rise by two to three notches.
He said there would be a decrease in precipitation from Friday onwards.
Owing to the overcast conditions, the minimum temperatures in most parts of the valley increased, but continued to stay below the freezing point.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1.7 degrees Celsius, over one degree up from the previous night’s minus 3.3 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The minimum temperature in Pahalgam in south Kashmir went up by over eight degrees from the previous night’s minus 14.7 degrees Celsius to settle at minus 6.2 degrees Celsius last night, he said.
Pahalgam was experiencing light snowfall when the reports last came in, he added.
The official said the ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night’s minus 11.6 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Qazigund settled at minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 6.1 degrees Celsius.
The minimum in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at minus 1.3 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 4.6 degree Celsius.
Leh recorded a low of minus 12.1 degrees Celsius, an increase of over five degrees from the previous night’s minus 17.4 degrees Celsius.
The official said the mercury in the nearby Kargil town went up by over six degrees to settle at a low of minus 12.4 degrees Celsius as compared to minus 19.0 degrees Celsius the previous night.
Temperatures increase slightly in Punjab, Haryana
In a slight relief to the people from biting cold conditions, minimum temperatures on Wednesday registered an increase at many places in Punjab and Haryana.
The minimum temperature at Adampur in Punjab’s Jalandhar district, which was the coldest place in the two states on Tuesday at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, rose to 7 degrees on Wednesday, four notches above normal, MeT official said.
The night temperature at Amritsar, too, rose from Tuesday’s 0.8 degrees to 3.5 degrees, the official said.
Patiala and Ludhiana also registered an increase in minimum temperatures recording low of 7.2 degrees and 7.7 degrees respectively.
Hisar and Narnaul in Haryana, however, continued to reel under biting cold conditions, recording below normal minimums of 1.1 degrees and 1.2 degrees.
Bhiwani and Karnal also experienced cold weather at 3.4 degrees, but Ambala registered a slight increase in minimum temperature at 7.5 degrees.
Cloudy weather prevailed in Chandigarh, where minimum temperature increased by over a notch since yesterday to settle at 7.4 degrees.
The MeT official said fog had lifted from most places barring Ludhiana and Karnal, where visibility levels were low this morning.
