North India shivers in winter chill, Ladakh freezes at -10 degrees Celsius

The cold wave conditions continued unabated in large parts of north India on Sunday, with Drass in Ladakh reeling at minus 26 degrees Celsius, and Srinagar witnessing its coldest night of the season at minus 4 degrees Celsius, resulting in partial freezing of the Dal Lake.

Delhiites woke up to a chilly Sunday morning with a thick layer of smog as the minimum temperature settled at 8.7 degrees Celsius. The air quality in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category.

According to the weatherman, the calm surface wind condition is likely to continue until Monday with the maximum temperature likely to settle at 24 degrees Celsius.

Drass, the second coldest inhabited place in the world, recorded a minimum of minus 26 degrees Celsius against the previous night's 25.4 degrees Celsius, while the nearby Leh town, also in Ladakh, recorded a low of 16 degrees Celsius.

Covered with a thick layer of fog, Srinagar recorded its coldest night of the season as the mercury plunged to minus 4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 3.5 notches below the normal, a Met official said.

The cold wave resulted in freezing of some water bodies, including the fringes of the famous Dal Lake, and residential water supply pipes.

This year the wintry conditions engulfed the region early following moderate to heavy snowfall, first of the season on November 7.

The minimum temperature in Jammu fell two notches below the season's average to settle at 8 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The night temperature is likely to improve in the coming days due to Western Disturbance which might hit the region on Wednesday, bringing another spell of snow and rains.

Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir was the coldest recorded place in the valley with a low of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius followed by the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.

Katra, which serves as the base camp for pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district of Jammu region, recorded a low of 8.2 degrees Celsius, the official said, adding Bhadarwah township of Doda district was the coldest recorded place in the region with a minimum of 1.4 degrees Celsius.

Director of the Meteorological Department Sonam Lotus said the night temperature is expected to improve from Monday night ahead of a fresh spell of widespread moderate snow or rain in plains of Jammu and Kashmir, and Kargil district of Ladakh from December 11 to 13 with main activity on December 12.

Neighbouring Himachal Pradesh was also reeled under intense cold wave conditions with Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti recording a low of minus 9.9 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa and Manali recorded a minimum of minus 0.1 degrees Celsius and minus 1.2 degrees Celsius respectively.

Shimla, Una, Kufri and Dalhousie recorded a low of 5.1, 5.2, 5.7 and 7.5 degrees Celsius respectively, the Met department said.

The hill state is likely to receive snowfall next week.

Punjab, Haryana recorded below-normal minimum temperatures on Sunday.

Adampur was the coldest place in Punjab at 4 degrees Celsius, followed by Amritsar that recorded a minimum of 5.7 degrees Celsius.

Bathinda, Gurdaspur, Halwara, Pathankot, Ludhiana and Patiala recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9, 8, 7.3, 6.5, 6.9 and 7.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

In Haryana, Karnal recorded a night temperature of 6.2 degrees Celsius and Hisar registered a minimum of 7.1 degrees Celsius. Narnaul, Rohtak and Sirsa registered a minimum of 7, 7.8 and 7.4 degrees Celsius respectively.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 8.4 degrees Celsius.

Isolated places of Uttar Pradesh were wrapped in shallow to moderate fog on Sunday morning.

Muzaffarnagar was the coldest place in the state, where mercury fell to 6.2 degrees Celsius.

Bahraich and Banda recorded 10 degrees Celsius, Aligarh 9.8 degrees Celsius, Shahjahanpur 9.6 degrees Celsius, Meerut 9.0 degrees Celsius, Bareilly 8.3 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature in Basti was 8.0 degrees Celsius.

State capital Lucknow recorded the minimum temperature of 12.1 degrees Celsius, two degrees above the normal limit.

The meteorological department has forecast shallow to moderate fog at isolated places over the state on Monday.

Minimum temperature in most parts of Rajasthan was recorded 1 to 3 degrees Celsius below normal, with Sikar witnessing the coldest night of the season at 5.5 degrees Celsius.

It was 6.9 degrees Celsius in Sriganganagar, 7 degrees Celsius in Churu, 8 degrees Celsius in Bikaner, 9.7 degrees Celsius in Ajmer, 9.8 degrees Celsius in Jaipur and 9.9 degrees Celsius in Kota.