Cold conditions prevail in north India; temperatures sub-zero in parts of J&K

New Delhi, Dec 7: Cold conditions prevailed across north India on Sunday, with the Amarnath yatra base camp being the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir at minus 4.3 degrees Celsius and parts of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan reporting minimum temperatures between three and seven degrees Celsius.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said cold wave conditions were “very likely” to prevail in isolated pockets over Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha on Monday and Tuesday.
In Delhi, the minimum temperature was recorded at eight degrees, up from 6.8 degrees a day ago and yet 1.6 notches below normal.
The maximum temperature was 24.7 degrees Celsius, 0.1 notch below normal, while the relative humidity was 92 per cent in the morning.
For Monday, the weather department forecast a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 25 degrees Celsius, with mist expected.
Pollution levels in Delhi remained in the “very poor” category on Sunday, prolonging the spell of toxic air that has hung over its residents for several weeks now. The city logged a 24-hour average AQI of 308.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor” and 401 and 500 “severe”.
Further in the north, the night temperatures in Kashmir rose by several degrees but stayed below the freezing point, officials said.
The Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the minimum settled at a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar — the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir — settled at minus 0.9 degrees Celsius, a rise of 3.2 degrees compared to the previous night.
The gateway town to the valley, Qazigund, recorded a low of minus one degree Celsius, while the minimum settled at minus 0.8 degree Celsius in north Kashmir’s Kupwara, and 1.1 degrees Celsius in south Kashmir’s Kokernag, according to officials.
The meteorological department said the weather would remain generally cloudy but dry on Sunday, and a brief spell of light snowfall at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir is likely on December 8.
In Himachal Pradesh, The IMD predicted dense fog in parts of the state until Wednesday.
A yellow alert for dense fog was also issued in parts of the reservoir area of the Bhakra dam in Bilaspur district and over some parts of the Balh valley in Mandi district during early morning till Monday.
In Punjab, Faridkot remained the coldest place, with the minimum temperature settling at 4.4 degrees Celsius, while in Haryana, Narnaul saw the lowest temperature at 4.6 degrees Celsius, according to the local meteorological department. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a minimum temperature of 8.2 degrees Celsius. (PTI)