Severe cold conditions continued unabated in northern parts of the country today with an avalanche warning being issued for 15 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, including two in the Ladakh region, which is experiencing extreme temperatures.
The situation was no better in Himachal Pradesh, with the mercury in high-altitude areas in the state hovering between minus 12 and minus 18 degrees Celsius.
The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) has warned of a low-danger level 1 and level 2 avalanche in the districts, with the Jammu and Kashmir government asking people to take precautionary measures.
The warning has been issued for areas in the higher reaches of Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Anantnag, Kulgam and Budgam for the next 24 hours, an official in Srinagar said.
The other districts are Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal, and Kargil and Leh in Ladakh region.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.1 degrees Celsius while Kargil continued to be the coldest place in the state at minus 20.2 degrees Celsius last night, a Meteorological (MeT) Department official said.
Leh recored minus 14.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum in Qazigund, in south Kashmir, was minus 4.2 degrees Celsius and in Kupwara, in the north, minus 4.6 degrees Celsius.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan'
a 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and the temperature drops considerably.
Temperatures in most places in Himachal Pradesh hovered around the freezing point at several places with Keylong, a high-altitude tribal district, recording a low of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius.
Dry weather continued in the state, causing anxiety among farmers and apple growers.
Manali recorded minus 0.6 degree, Bhuntar and Sundernagar zero degrees Celsius and 1.1 degree, respectively, the MeT office in Shimla said.
The national capital recored a low of 5 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal.
However, later in the day the temperature increased to 25.8 degrees Celsius, five degrees above than normal, a MeT official said here.
Cold wave conditions and fog were reported from isolated places in Uttar Pradesh with the weather remaining dry all over the state. Muzaffarnagar was the coldest place in the region, recording a low of 2.1 degrees Celsius.
Most places in Punjab and Haryana, too, reeled under cold weather conditions with Hisar recording 2.7 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperatures in the two states.
The minimum in Chandigarh was 5.9 degrees Celsius. In Haryana, Ambala, Narnaul and Karnal recorded 6.2, 3.2 and 4 degrees Celsius, respectively, the MeT office said.
In Punjab, Amritsar recorded it's minimum at 3.8 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana and Patiala recorded 4.2 and 5.7 degrees Celsius.
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