New Delhi: Mercury plunged five degrees below normal on Thursday morning bringing back cold conditions in the city which was experiencing a spell of relatively pleasant weather over the last few days.
The low was recorded at 4 degree Celsius, down by 4.5 degrees from Wednesday's minimum temperature of 8.5 degrees, the MeT office said.
Cold winds added to the chill in the air early in the morning but a bright sun gave some relief to people.
The maximum temperature in the last 24 hour was recorded at 19.3 degree Celsius, which is three degrees below normal for this time of the year.
The MeT office has predicted similar weather conditions for Friday with the minimum and maximum temperatures likely to be around five and 22 degree Celsius respectively.
While the last day of January recorded a minimum of 4.4 degree Celsius, the mercury has settled at a higher level ever since, rising from near seven on the first day of February to double digit figures over the last few days.
Himachal Pradesh gets fresh snowfall, rain
Fresh snowfall and rains in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday dropped the mercury to sub-zero level at many places. The state capital Shimla recorded minimum minus 3.8 degrees Celsius.
Elsewhere, Manali settled at a low of minus 7.4 degree Celsius, Solan recorded minus 2.0 degree Celsius and Sundernagar 0.5 degree Celsius. Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 17.8 degree Celsius, while Kalpa in adjoining tribal district of Kinnaur recorded a low of minus 10.8 degree Celsius.
Waterpipes were frozen at numerous places in Manali, Shimla and Solan, affecting water supply, while thick ground frost made the roads slippery, making driving hazardous and hampering vehicular traffic.
Kalpa recorded 20 cm snow, while tourist resort of Narkanda received 20-50 cm snow. Shimla and Manali also recorded 8 cm and 6 cm snow respectively.
Freezing cold sweeps Punjab, Haryana
With another spell of snowfall in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the fresh cold wave sweeping Punjab and Haryana on Thursday worsened further as minimum temperatures plummetted across the two states.
Narnaul, Hisar, Bhiwani in Haryana and Amritsar in Punjab bore the brunt of current spell of cold wave, with mercury dropping by record levels during this part of the year.
Narnaul was freezing at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius while Hisar's minimum dropped to 0 degrees Celsius, down by seven and eight notches respectively, the MeT Department said.
Bhiwani, too, was equally cold recording a low of 0.7 degrees Celsius, down seven degrees. There was no relief in sight yet for Karnal residents, where mercury in the minimum dropped to 1.2 degrees Celsius, seven degrees below normal while Rohtak recorded a low of 3 degrees Celsius, down five degrees.
Ambala also braved a cold night at 4.8 degrees Celsius, down three notches. Chandigarh's minimum dropped by over a notch since Wednesday to settle at 5 degrees Celsius, down two degrees.
In Punjab, Amritsar continued to be the coldest place recording a bone-chilling low of 0.4 degrees Celsius, down five notches. The people of Ludhiana and Patiala also shivered, recording below normal lows of 3.9 degrees Celsius and 3.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The maximum temperatures at most places in the two states and their joint capital Chandigarh on Wednesday hovered between 17-18 degrees Celsius, as icy cold winds swept the region.
The MeT department has forecast that cold conditions would continue in the region during the next two days.
Cold wave hits Rajasthan again
Biting cold weather returned to Rajasthan on Thursday as the state reeled under below normal temperatures with four places recording night temperatures below zero degrees Celsius.
Mount Abu, the sole hill station of the state, recorded a night temperature of minus 2 degree Celsius while, in plains, Churu and Eranpura road both recorded minus 1 degree Celsius.
Sriganganagar saw a minimum of minus 0.5 degree Celsius, according to Met department. Mercury in Pilani, Jaisalmer, Dabok, Bikaner, Jaipur and Phalodi settled at 0.3, 2, 3, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 degree Celsius respectively.
Other places also recorded minimum temperatures between 5.2 degree Celsius to 7.5 degree Celsius.
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