NEW DELHI: Cold weather conditions persisted in Delhi on Monday with parts of the capital receiving light rainfall, while the night temperature rose by several degrees across Kashmir following overnight snowfall though the mercury remained below the freezing point in the Valley, officials said.
Similarly, Punjab and Haryana continued to feel the winter chill on Monday with fog shrouding a few places in the two states in the early morning hours.
In Delhi, the mercury settled at a low of 9.6 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The fog cover over the capital thinned out though after three days, improving morning visibility.
Najafgarh recorded 2.5 mm of rainfall, Pitampura 2 mm, Palam 1 mm and Pusa 0.5 mm between 5.30 am and 8.30 am, IMD data showed.
The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 9.6 degrees Celsius, 2.7 notches above the normal for this time of the year, at 8.30 am on Monday, the IMD said.
At 5.30 am, the visibility at Safdarjung and Palam was 300 metres, it said.
Dense fog in the capital reduced morning visibility to zero on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, leading to flight cancellations and diversions, and trains being delayed.
On Saturday, there was zero visibility for an unprecedented nine hours.
In Kashmir, the night temperatures across the Valley rose by several degrees following overnight snowfall, but the mercury remained below the freezing point.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 0.5 degree Celsius, two degrees above the previous night’s minus 2.5 degree, the weather office said.
Gulmarg, a tourist resort town known for skiing activities in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.5 degree Celsius, unchanged from the previous night, it said.
In Pahalgam, one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, the minimum temperature rose to minus 1.4 degree Celsius from minus 3.2 degree the night before, the weather office said. Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, logged a low of zero degree Celsius, while Konibal in Pampore town registered a minimum temperature of minus 1 degree, it added.
Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 0.3 degree Celsius, while Kokernag in south Kashmir saw the mercury settle at minus 0.4 degree Celsius — a sharp rise from previous night’s minus 8.1 degree Celsius, the weather office said.
Meanwhile, cold conditions continued to prevail at several places in Punjab and Haryana on Monday.
Ballowal Saunkhri in Punjab’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district was the coldest at 6.6 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.
Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 7.9 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.
The minimum temperature in Ludhiana was recorded at 8.6 degrees Celsius, Patiala 8.4 degrees, Pathankot 9.3 degrees, Bathinda 7.4 degrees and Gurdaspur 8 degrees Celsius.
In Haryana, Ambala recorded a low of 9.9 degrees Celsius, Hisar 9.4 degrees, Karnal 8.5 degrees, Narnaul 7.5 degrees, Bhiwani 10 degrees and Sirsa 12 degrees.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, registered a low of 9.8 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. Fog was also observed at some places in the two states. (PTI)