NEW DELHI: Winter tightened its grip across north India today as rains continued in several areas of the region and snowfall took place in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh, where Shimla recorded the season’s coldest night at minus 2 degrees Celsius.
Early morning fog and mist disrupted road, rail and air traffic in many parts of the region, affecting normal life, and leading to a road accident in Rajasthan in which nine persons were killed.
In the national capital, however, the maximum temperature rose by over six notches from yesterday and settled at 19.8 degrees Celsius. The minimum was registered at 11.4 degrees, four points above normal.
According to MeT officials, the sky was mostly overcast and the city received 6.5 mm rainfall early in the morning.
Meanwhile, cold wave conditions intensified in Himachal Pradesh following fresh snowfall and heavy rains in some parts even as state capital Shimla witnessed the season’s coldest night with a low of minus 2 degrees yesterday.
Shimla, which received 4 cm of snow and 21 mm rainfall, shivered under piercing cold wave conditions. Manali recorded a low of minus 1.6 degrees and Dharamsala 3.4 degrees. High altitude areas reeled under arctic conditions with the mercury staying 15 to 22 degrees below the freezing point.
Upper reaches of Manali and Rohtang Pass received 50-60 cm of fresh snowfall while heavy intermittent rains lashed mid and lower hills and Una was the wettest with 44 mm of rains.
Minimum temperatures in most places in the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh too dipped by several degrees. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum of 0.6 degrees Celsius, over a degree down from the previous night.
The mercury in Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, settled at a minimum of minus 11.7 degrees, a decrease of over five points from the previous night. Leh was the coldest place in the state. Kargil saw a dip of over six points in the night temperature as the minimum there stood at minus 11.4 degrees.
Famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 7.8 degrees, a drop of over three notches from the previous night. Gulmarg experienced fresh snowfall yesterday while it recorded 1.2 mm of rainfall during the night.
In Rajasthan, winter intensified its grip as moderate rain continued to lash several parts for a second consecutive day disrupting normal life. Fog and early morning mist affected traffic operations and an SUV collided head-on with a truck in Rajsamand district, killing nine persons on the spot. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel