NEW DELHI, Jan 12: As fog floated across cityscapes and open grounds in northern states, the winter weighed much heavier, pushing mercury down to near-freezing temperatures in many areas which experienced the coldest night of the season.
Haryana’s Gurugram and Punjab’s Bathinda recorded a low of 0.6 degrees Celsius, while Fatehpur in Rajasthan’s Sikar district crossed the freezing point threshold to reach minus 0.4 degrees, the local meteorological departments said on Monday.
Near sub-zero temperatures were reported from the NCR region, including in Faridabad and Rewari, leading to ground frost. A layer of ice covered the windshields of some vehicles parked outside homes in Gurugram and turned dry grass brittle. The frost was particularly visible in rural areas on farm boundaries and vehicle windows.
According to official records, Gurugram recorded a low of 0 degrees Celsius on January 11, 1971. However, it cannot be said if Sunday night’s temperature is an all-time low for the city, as data for every year is not available.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that severe cold and dense fog conditions are likely to persist across North India in the coming days.
In the national capital, the minimum temperature settled at 3.2 degrees Celsius, plunging 4.2 notches below the seasonal average, marking the coldest January day in the city since 2023, as well as the second consecutive day of cold wave conditions.
The maximum temperature in Delhi on Monday was recorded at 20.6 degrees Celsius, which was 0.7 notch above normal.
The IMD said the city will witness mainly clear skies, with moderate fog at many places and dense fog at isolated locations during the morning hours. Cold wave conditions are expected to prevail at a few places across the city.
The minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be around 4 degrees and 20 degrees on Tuesday.
In Rajasthan, intense cold conditions persisted as temperatures dipped sharply.
Several districts recorded near-freezing night temperatures, disrupting daily life and forcing people to stay indoors.
According to the weather office, night temperatures remained below 8 degrees Celsius in many areas. Isolated pockets of the state experienced severe cold wave conditions.
After Fatehpur, Lunkaransar in Bikaner at 0.4 degrees and Churu at 1.3 degrees Celsius were the second and third coldest recorded places in the state.
Other places like Ganganagar and Karauli recorded a minimum temperature of 1.4 and 1.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Biting cold affected residents during the night and early morning hours.
Shallow fog reduced visibility in several regions, while dense fog in western Rajasthan slowed vehicular traffic during the early hours. Residents in several towns were seen using bonfires to keep themselves warm.
The meteorological department has forecast that cold wave to severe cold wave conditions will likely continue in parts of the state over the next day.
The department has advised the public, especially children and the elderly, to take necessary precautions as the cold spell persists.
In Punjab and Haryana, most places and their common capital, Chandigarh, have been swept by severe cold conditions over the past several days, with fog reducing visibility in many areas. Chandigarh recorded a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius.
Gurugram residents said they have not witnessed such frigid conditions in years.
“During severe winters, minimum temperatures do dip in Gurugram. However, I do not recall the mercury dropping close to the sub-zero level in the past many years,” said Vinod Kumar, a local.
“Intense cold weather is likely to continue in Punjab and Haryana over the next three days. After this, the cold weather conditions will prevail, but severe cold is likely to abate,” Chandigarh Meteorological Department Director Surender Paul told PTI over the phone.
In Haryana, Narnaul was the second-coldest place with a minimum temperature of 1.2 degrees Celsius.
Devi Ram, a farmer from Haryana’s Binola village, described the biting cold on Monday morning, noting, “When I went to the fields early this morning, it felt like a white sheet had been spread over the crops. Dew was falling, making my clothes wet within minutes. The cold was so severe that I had to start a bonfire. This frost is beneficial for the wheat crop, but the vegetable crops will suffer losses.”
While the frost benefits the wheat crop, it negatively impacts vegetable crops such as potatoes, peas, radishes, and mustard. Agricultural scientist Dr Anand Kumar advised farmers to perform light irrigation to protect mustard and other crops from frost damage.
Meanwhile, Kashmir received some respite from intense cold wave conditions as minimum temperatures rose by a couple of degrees, even as they remained below the freezing point, officials said.
The sub-zero temperatures and clear skies resulted in freezing of parts of the Dal Lake and other water bodies in the valley.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, up from the previous night’s minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, officials said.
South Kashmir’s Pulwama town was the coldest place in the valley with a minimum temperature of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.
In Himachal Pradesh, the local meteorological centre predicted a wet spell in the high hills from January 16 and issued a yellow warning for cold wave at isolated places in Chamba district till Wednesday.
It also issued a yellow alert for dense fog at isolated places in seven out of the 12 districts in the state — Una, Bilapsur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur — till January 15.
“Light rain and snow are likely at isolated places in the high hills from January 16 to 18 as a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region from January 15,” the Met centre said.
The weather remained dry in the past 24 hours, with a severe cold wave in Berthin (Bilaspur) and Hamirpur and a cold wave in Kangra, Una and Mandi.
There were no significant changes in the minimum and maximum temperatures, with Kukumseri in Lahaul-Spiti recording the coldest night temperature at minus 9.6 degrees Celsius, it said. (PTI)
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