NEW DELHI: Light to heavy rains lashed several parts of north India intensifying cold wave conditions in the region following snowfall in higher reaches that brought down day temperature considerably in Delhi and neighbourhood.
Snowfall was recorded in the higher reaches of Uttarkhand and Jammu and Kashmir and some places in Himachal Pradesh while many places in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, UP and some places in Rajasthan were lashed by showers with MeT department predicting more snowfall in the higher reaches.
“We have predicted heavy snowfall in parts of Uttarakhand and J&K. In HP, only few regions would experience snowfall, whereas in Uttarakhand, snowfall would be experienced in 1-2 regions,” IMD Director B P Yadav said.
The sky remained overcast as scattered rains and icy winds swept through Delhi keeping people indoors.
The maximum temperature settled seven notches below normal at 16 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was recorded at 14.2 degree Celsius, six points above normal, Met department said.
The city received 3.8 mm of rains during the day as high humidity persisted between 87 and 93 per cent.
As overcast conditions coupled with shallow fog loomed throughout the day, the Met department predicted similar conditions for tomorrow and possibility of more rains during the night.
Snowfall in the higher reaches and rains in low lying areas of Uttarakhand brought down temperatures in the state intensifying the cold conditions.
In the Garhwal division, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Hemkund and Chakrata and in the Kumaon division Munsyari and Dharchula received snowfall, MeT department said.
Some low lying areas including state capital Dehradun received sporadic rainfall.
Despite severe cold, long queues of voters were seen outside the polling stations in Jammu and Kashmir today.
Ending a prolonged dry spell, many parts of Punjab and Haryana received moderate to heavy rainfall for the second day today as minimum temperatures showed a significant rise although chilly winds forced people to remain indoors. (PTI)