A bright sunny day and rise in night temperature brought some respite from cold in most parts of the northern India except Kashmir Valley where the mercury dipped further.
Delhi witnessed a pleasant morning as the minimum temperature settled at 10.6 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal. The general visibility was recorded at 1000 metres.
The weatherman has predicted partly cloudy sky afternoon onwards, with possibility of shallow fog tomorrow morning.
In Rajasthan, there was a rise in night temperatures in most parts of the state, where the lowest was recorded in Churu at 5.8 degrees Celsius.
According to MeT department, Sikar recorded a minimum of 6 deg C, Sriganganagar 8.4 deg C, Bikaner 9.6 deg C, state capital Jaipur 10 deg C and Ajmer 11.5 degree Celsius.
Cold wave tightened its grip across Kashmir Valley as the minimum temperature dropped at most places.
Leh was the coldest recorded area at minus 11.8 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 3. 7 degrees Celsius against yesterday's minus 2.7 degrees Celsius, a MET office spokesman said.
The famous ski resort of Gulmarg, a major attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, was the coldest recorded place in the Valley with a low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius against yesterday's minus 5.4 degrees Celsius.
Kargil, also in the cold desert of Ladakh, registered a minimum of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius, making it the second coldest place in the state, the spokesman said.
The minimum temperature dropped several degrees in Pahalgam hill resort to settle at minus 6.4 degrees Celsius against yesterday's minus 2.9 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in north Kashmir town of Kupwara was minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, while the southern Kokernag resort recorded a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir along Srinagar-Jammu national highway, registered a minimum of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.
As the sun shone brightly for the second consecutive day today, the chances of snowfall or rains have further reduced.
Himachal Pradesh also witnessed a clear sky. Capital Shimla witnessed a minimum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius, which was about 3 degrees above normal for this time of the season.
Nahan recorded a low of 10.1 degrees Celsius while the lowest temperature in higher hill reaches of Kalpa was at zero degree Celsius. Usually temperature remains around minus four to five degrees Celsius here at this time of the season.
In Srinagar, temperature increased nearly four degrees
from the previous night's low to settle at 3.1 degrees Celsius, an official of the Meteorological department said.
Gulmarg, the famous ski resort in north Kashmir, received fresh snowfall of around two inches at night, he said.
The official said barring Gulmarg at minus 3.2 degrees, mercury in all the places recorded in the Valley settled above freezing point.
Most of the areas in the plains of the Valley received intermittent rains overnight with the north Kashmir town of Kupwara recording rainfall of 14.2 mm, he said.
The mercury there registered an increase of nearly three notches and settled at a low of 0.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The night temperature in the hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir went up over six notches to settle at a low of 1.3 degrees Celsius, the official said.
In Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, mercury increased 1.5 degrees to settle at 2.6 degrees Celsius.
Residents in Leh town of Ladakh region also experienced a huge relief as the night temperature rose over six degrees from the previous night's low of minus 12.7 degrees Celsius to settle at minus 6.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.
There is possibility of heavy rains or snowfall at few places in Kashmir over next two days.
Day temperature dipped across Himachal Pradesh as high altitude tribal areas and other high mountain ranges had another spell of snowfall and the mid and lower hills received widespread rain, ending the four-week long dry spell.
Kalpa and Keylong in tribal Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts received 15 cm and 10 cm of snow while the mighty Rohtang Pass, Kunzam pass and Saach pass had 40 cm, 35 cm and 30 cm of snow, respectively.
State capital Shimla had 12.5 mm of rainfall.
The high altitude tribal areas, covered under a thick blanket of snow, reeled under intense cold wave conditions with the mercury staying eight to 15 degrees below the freezing point.
Kalatop was the wettest in the region with 32 mm rains, followed by Shimla 14.2 mm; Chelsea 13 mm; Manali 10 mm; Kufri, Bajaura, Jubbal and Chail 5 mm each; and Kasauli 4 mm.
Keylong and Kalpa recorded minimum temperatures at minus 3.3 degrees and minus 1.8 degrees, while Bhuntar recorded a low of 2.4 degrees, followed by Solan 5.0, Shimla 6.2, Dharamsala 7.6, Palampur 9.0, Nahan 9.6 and Una 11.7 degrees Celsius, the local MeT office said.
Day temperatures dropped marginally and Nahan was the hottest in the region with a maximum temperature of 19.4 deg. Una recorded a high of 15.2 deg, followed by Dharamsala 14.6, Solan 14.5, Shimla 8.4 degrees Celsius.
(REOPENS DEL-58)
Rains also lashed some parts of Punjab even as minimum temperatures rose several notches above normal level in the state as also in Haryana.
Rains hit Tarn Taran (15mm), Amritsar (1.2 mm), Kapurthala (4 mm) and Jalandhar (3 mm), a MeT department official said.
Chandigarh, recorded, minimum of 13.3 degrees Celsius, seven notches above normal.
In Haryana, Ambala and Hisar braved cold weather at 12.5 deg C and 12.2 deg C, respectively, five notches above normal.
Among other places, Karnal and Narnaul recorded their minimums at 9.4 deg C and 9.5 deg C respectively.
Amritsar in Punjab recorded a low of 8.6 deg C, 4 deg C above normal while minimum of Ludhiana and Patiala settled at 12.1 deg C and 12.2 deg C respectively, up to five notches above normal.
Winter conditions eased in Rajasthan with the mercury scaling up to double-digit figure in most places, even as fog disrupted road and rail traffic.
Sriganganagar recorded the state's lowest temperature at 11.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, a MeT official said.
Mercury was hovering one to four degrees above normal levels in all parts of Rajasthan. The MeT official attributed the rise in temperature to the passing of western disturbances in the past two days.
However, seven trains were running late due to fog, North Western Railway CPRO Tarun Jain said.
People in Jaipur experienced a hot day with a minimum temperature of 14 degrees Celsius and maximum of 27 degrees Celsius.
Kota's night temperature was recorded at 15.8 degrees. Elsewhere the minimum temperature varied between 11 and 15.8 degrees Celsius.
