Cold wave intensifies in North India: Pahalgam witnesses coldest January night in five years at minus 14.6 degrees Celsius

Cold wave conditions continued across North India on Monday with fresh bouts of snowfall reported in the Kashmir valley, Ladakh region and Himachal Pradesh. Several places also witnessed a sharp drop in minimum temperatures at night. The Valley, however, saw a sunny Monday morning despite the cold conditions. Kashmir Kashmir is under what is known as the ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day harshest period of winter when snowfall is frequent. Chillai-Kalan ends on 31 January and is then followed by a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and the 10-day ‘Chillai Bachha’ (baby cold). Pahalgam witnessed the coldest night of the season at a record low of minus 14.6 degrees Celsius, which was also the coldest January night in the hill station in the past five years. While Kargil was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir with a low of minus 18.6 degrees Celsius, Leh too witnessed a low of minus 16.2 degrees Celsius. [caption id=“attachment_5893261” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A view of snow-laden roads near the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, at Patnitop, about 115 km from Jammu. PTI[/caption] In Srinagar, the minimum temperature plummeted to six degrees on Sunday night and settled at minus 6.4 degrees Celsius. Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.9 degrees Celsius while Kokernag town registered a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday night. Gulmarg, north Kashmir’s ski-resort, recorded a low of minus 12.0 degrees Celsius. Another spell of precipitation starting Friday is expected even though the Indian Meteorological Department has said that the weather will remain dry for the next few days. Himachal Pradesh Manali in Kullu district witnessed a fresh spell of snow on Sunday night, bringing temperatures down to minus 5 degrees Celsius even as the state was greeted with a bright sunny day on Monday. The tourist place witnessed 2 centimetres of snowfall from 5.30 pm on Sunday till about 8.30 am on Monday, said Manmohan Singh, director, Meteorological Centre in Shimla. Rain and snow are likely to continue in the state till Tuesday, officials said. Acute cold wave conditions also prevailed in other tourist destinations such as Kufri in Shimla district and Dalhousie in Chamba district. The minimum temperature at Kufri and Dalhousie remained at minus 2.9 degrees Celsius and zero degree Celsius, respectively. Keylong, the administrative centre of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest place in the state at minus 12 degrees Celsius. In Kalpa, which is around 250 kilometres from Keylong, recorded a low of 8.2 degrees Celsius. [caption id=“attachment_5893341” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kalpa in Kinnaur district. ANI[/caption] State capital Shimla, and Palampur saw a minimum temperature of one degree Celsius each. The road linking upper Shimla towns were cut-off due to snowfall but were restored by Sunday evening. Punjab, Haryana In Punjab and Haryana, night temperatures went up a few notches above normal at most places even as cold wave conditions continued. Adampur was the coldest place in the region with a minimum temperature of 1.7 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature in Chandigarh was recorded at 9.2 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal. In Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala, temperatures hovered at 8, 7.7 and 8.6 degrees Celsius, respectively. In Haryana, Ambala, Hisar and Karnal recorded their respective minimums at 9.8, 9.4 and 9.2 degrees Celsius, respectively, up to four notches above normal. While Rohtak, Narnaul, Sirsa and Bhiwani recorded their minimums at 10.6, 9, 9.7 and 10.2 degrees Celsius, up to four notches above normal. Delhi Delhiites woke up to a cold morning on Monday but with clear skies. The minimum temperature settled at eight degrees Celsius, a notch above the season’s average. The maximum temperature hovered around 21 degrees Celsius while the minimum stood at 8.5 degrees Celsius. Officials have also predicted rainfall. Meanwhile, the overall air quality has deteriorated to ‘very poor’ category. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was docking at 386 in the morning, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).