Fresh snowfall in the hills and light rain in the plains led to a moderate increase in maximum temperatures in parts of north India on Friday, but a significant change in the weather in Mumbai and its suburbs brought the winter chill to the metropolis.
Rain lashed parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh overnight as dense fog hit traffic in the morning. A dense fog is likely to envelop and reduce visibility in the national capital and parts of UP on Saturday morning as well, according to India Meteorology Department.
The air quality in Delhi was 'poor' with an AQI of 283 after the rain.
Himachal's tourist destinations Kufri, Dalhousie and Shimla witnessed fresh snowfall. Kufri has received 10 cm snowfall since Thursday and Dalhousie 5 cm, a Met office official said in Shimla.
Shimla and several other parts of the state also witnessed light snowfall. The weatherman has forecast rain and snowfall in the hills and thundershowers in the plains over the next few days.
As the northern region experienced rise in temperatures after snowfall and rain, residents of Mumbai and its suburbs started feeling the winter chill as the minimum temperature dropped to 14 degrees Celsius, the season's lowest in the city.
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IMD's Colaba observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 14.5 degrees Celsius and the Santacruz weather station recorded 11.4 degrees Celsius.
The IMD said 11.4 degrees Celsius was the lowest minimum temperature recorded in the suburbs after 2013. Due to the significant drop in temperatures, morning officer-goers and school children were seen wrapped in woolens to keep warm.
Deputy Director General of Meteorology, IMD Mumbai, K S Hosalikar, tweeted that day-time temperatures are expected to remain low due to chilly winds.
Meanwhile, the Jammu-Srinagar national highway
reopened for one-way traffic on Friday after four days. The all-weather road connecting the Valley with the rest of the country was closed after snowfall near Jawahar Tunnel and the resulting multiple landslides in Banihal-Ramban sector.
The met office predicted more rainfall in parts of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
In Punjab, Amritsar was the coldest recorded place in the state at 4.7 degrees Celsius. Hisar in Haryana recorded a minimum temperature of 5.1 degrees Celsius.
Cold prevailed in Rajasthan as the minimum temperature dropped by up to 2 degrees Celsius at most places. Churu was the coldest recorded place in the state at 3.3 degrees Celsius.
The Met department has forecast that the cold weather will remain dominant in the state in next 24 hours and fog will be witnessed in Sikar, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Churu, Dholpur.
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