Marginal respite from cold wave

Leh had yesterday recorded this season’s lowest of minus 18.8 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar,the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir,witnessed a freezing minus 3.6 degrees Celsius,which was an increase of 1.3 degrees from yesterday,the official said.

The summer capital yesterday recorded 4.9 degrees Celsius,which for the second time was this season’s lowest temperature here.

The south Kashmir resort of Pahalgam recorded an increase of three degrees in the night temperatures as the minimum there rose from yesterday’s minus 7.0 degree Celsius to minus 3.0 degree Celsius,he said.

The north Kashmir skiing resort of Gulmarg,the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter,recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.6 degree Celsius,an increase of 0.4 degree as compared to the previous night,the official said.

After a rainy night,Delhiites woke up to a warmer but cloudy morning with minimum temperature settling five degree Celsius above normal at 11.6 degree Celsius.

Today’s minimum was up by over three degrees from yesterday’s 8.4 degrees,the MeT Department said. Yesterday,the maximum was at 19.5 degree Celsius.

Last night’s showers measured 0.6 mm in the rain gauge.

There was shallow fog in the morning but it did not have much impact on the operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport.

The desert state of Rajasthan remained in the grip of extreme cold with Churu recording the lowest temperature of 3.4 degree Celsius.

Bikaner and Phalodi were close seconds at 4 degree Celsius. Sikar recorded a low of 4.3 degree Celsius,while Jodhpur,also known as Sun City,had a minimum of 5.4 degree Celsius.

Jaisalmer and Pink City Jaipur recorded minimums of 5.7 degree Celsius and 7.9 degree Celsius respectively.

Other places in the state recorded night temperatures in the range of 8 degrees Celsius to 13 degrees Celsius,according to the MeT department.

Minimum temperatures in Punjab and Haryana rose today providing relief to people from cold even as fog affected normal life in many places.

A western disturbance hovered over the two states and moisture from a cyclonic storm brought in the cloud cover.

Chandigarh recorded a minimum of 10.4 degrees Celsius,five notches more than normal level,the MeT Office said here. In Punjab,Patiala registered a low of 10 degree Celsius,up four notches,while the minimum at Ludhiana also witnessed an increase to settle at 7.8 degree Celsius,up two degrees.

Though Amritsar recorded a 4 degree Celsius minimum,it was a degree above normal. However,the three Punjab towns saw early morning fog reduce visibility.

Karnal in Haryana recorded a low of 10.6 degree Celsius,up four notches,while Ambala saw a jump by five notches in its minimum to settle at 11 degree Celsius.

Rohtak recorded a low of 9.4 degree Celsius,up three degrees,while the low at Hisar was 5.6 degree Celsius,up one notch.

Fog also prevailed in Ambala,Hisar,Karnal and Rohtak.

The Cold wave,gripping north India,has already claimed 135 lives so far.

The east,however,had some respite with minimum temperature in Kolkata recorded at 17 degree celsius which is four degrees above normal.

Leh remains below freezing point at minus 17.2 deg C

The minimum temperature across the Kashmir Valley rose by several degrees even though it remained below the freezing point with Leh town recording a chilling minus of 17.2 degrees Celsius.

Even though Leh town in the remote Ladakh region witnessed a comparatively warmer night,the mercury there settled at a low of minus 17.2 degrees Celsius,an increase of 1.6 degrees from yesterday,a MeT official said.

Leh had yesterday recorded this season’s lowest of minus 18.8 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar,the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir,witnessed a freezing minus 3.6 degrees Celsius,which was an increase of 1.3 degrees from yesterday,the official said.

The summer capital yesterday recorded 4.9 degrees Celsius,which for the second time was this season’s lowest temperature here.

The south Kashmir resort of Pahalgam recorded an increase of three degrees in the night temperatures as the minimum there rose from yesterday’s minus 7.0 degrees Celsius to minus 3.0 deg C,he said.

The north Kashmir skiing resort of Gulmarg,the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter,recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius,an increase of 0.4 degree as compared to the previous night,the official said.

The gateway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 1.6 deg C,an increase of 3.4 degrees from yesterday,while north Kashmir Kupwara town recorded a minimum of minus 2.7 deg C,an increase of two degrees as compared to yesterday.

There has been a drastic drop in temperature since ‘Chillai Kalan’,a forty-day period of extreme chilling weather,which began on December 21.