Mercury drops as rain hits parts of north India Kashmir reels under intense cold

     New Delhi, Dec 23 (PTI) Day temperatures dropped sharply in several areas of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh after light rain hit parts of north India on Monday, even as intense cold wave conditions persisted in Kashmir with mercury dipping several degrees below freezing point.
     In Himachal Pradesh, Shimla and nearby areas also witnessed light snowfall which led to the closure of 30 roads in the state.
     People in the national capital woke up to a drizzle and fog with the minimum temperature settling at 8.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
     The maximum temperatures in Haryana and Punjab witnessed a sharp dip as rain lashed many parts the two states.
     According to the Met office, Chandigarh, which received light rain during the day, recorded a maximum temperature of 13.7 degrees Celsius, down six notches against normal.
     In Haryana, Ambala recorded a maximum temperature of 13.2 degrees Celsius, down six notches against normal while Hisar also had a cold day at a high of 14.1 degrees.
     Cold weather conditions also prevailed in Karnal during the day at 13.6 degrees while Sirsa recorded a high of 14.8 degrees.
     However, minimum temperatures hovered above normal at many places in Haryana including Hisar (10.8 degrees), Rohtak (11.8), and Gurugram (11.4).
     In Punjab, Patiala braved the chill recording a high of 13 degrees Celsius, which was six notches below normal.
     Amritsar recorded a maximum of 16.4 degrees while Ludhiana recorded a high of 14.5 degrees.
     The minimum temperatures at many places in Punjab hovered close to or below normal limits, with Gurdaspur reeling under severe chill at 4 degrees.
     In Jammu and Kashmir, the weather office asked tourists to follow the advisory issued by the traffic police in view of the sub freezing temperatures and icy conditions over roads of important higher reaches in the Kashmir valley.
     Intense cold wave conditions persisted in the valley leading to the freezing of water supply lines while a thin layer of ice covered the surface of several water bodies.
     Srinagar recorded a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, rising by nearly four degrees from the previous night, the meteorological office said.
     Pahalgam, the base camp for annual Amarnath Yatra in South Kashmir, registered a minimum temperature of minus 5 degrees Celsius, almost unchanged from the previous night, it said.
     The Met office has predicted a dip of two to three degrees in minimum temperatures over the next 48 hours.
     Shimla, the Himachal capital, on Monday recorded the season's second light snowfall while some other parts of the state received intermittent rain and snow.
     The nearby tourist spots of Kufri and Narkanda and the higher reaches of Kharapathar, Chaurdhar and Chanshal South portal of the Atal tunnel, and Samdho also received snowfall.
     Shimla recorded 8 cm of snowfall while Kalpa recorded 7 cm. A few areas in Himachal's lower hills received light intermittent rain, the Met office said.
     The snow led to the closure of 30 roads, including the national highways between Attari and Leh, and Khab Sangam in Kinnaur district and Gramphoo in Lahaul and Spiti district, the State Emergency Operation Centre said.
     The snowfall brought cheer to tourists, locals and farmers.
     The Met had forecast rain and snow in the mid and higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh on Monday, Tuesday and Friday and Saturday.
     The snowfall also brought cheer to apple growers, raising hope for good yields in the upper Shimla region.
     Tourism stakeholders said the snowfall was also expected to boost footfall. Local hotelier Sushant Nag said occupancy was set to rise as snowfall drew tourists.
     However, intense cold wave persisted in the lower hills, including Una, Hamirpur, Chamba and Mandi.
     The Met office issued an 'orange' warning for severe cold in Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi till Thursday.
     There was a marked fall in maximum temperatures. Una recorded the day temperature at 16.8 degrees Celsius.
     Tabo was the coldest place in the state, recording a minimum temperature of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius.
     The Met office said an active western disturbance was likely to affect the western Himalayan region and adjoining plains from Friday.
     Light rain and snow are likely at many places on Monday and Saturday and at isolated places on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, causing a gradual fall in temperatures, it said.
     The high-altitude tribal areas and mountain passes continued to experience biting cold, with temperatures plummeting 14 to 18 degrees below freezing point, the Met office said.
     In Rajasthan, light rain, triggered by a western disturbance, hit several parts of the state over the past 24 hours, accompanied by dense fog at some places, the Met office said.
     Rainfall ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm was logged in several areas including Ganganagar, Churu, Bikaner, Anupgarh, Pilani (Jhunjhunu), it said.
     Fog prevailed at many places of western Rajasthan with Alwar recording the lowest minimum temperature at 7.4 degrees Celsius.    
     A fresh western disturbance is expected to become active on Thursday and Friday and its effect will be seen in Udaipur, Kota, Ajmer and Bharatpur divisions, the weather office said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)