New Delhi: Bitter cold conditions persisted in the northern region of the country even as the sun shone throughout the day in the national capital on Sunday giving a pleasant turn to the weather.
The maximum temperature in Delhi was 23.7 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal, while the minimum settled at 7.1 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal.
Up north, the mercury stayed below freezing point across Kashmir valley last night with Srinagar recording a minimum of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg was the coldest place here as the mercury dipped to minus 10.6 degrees Celsius, a MET official said.
Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest place in the state with the temperature falling to a low of minus 16.5 degrees Celsius. Nearby Kargil town recorded a temperature of minus 14.2 degrees Celsius.
It was chilly also in the states of Punjab and Haryana with the minimum dropping by upto five degrees Celsius below normal at a few places in the region.
Hisar and Amritsar were the coldest places in the states with an identical low of 4 degrees Celsius, which was five and two notches below normal respectively.
Among other places, Patiala had a low of 6.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, followed by 6.9 degrees Celsius at Ambala, two notches below normal, 7.1 degrees Celsius at Chandigarh, one notch below normal.
Fog enveloped some parts of the region including Ambala, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala.
In the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh, the threat of avalanches loomed large in tribal areas and higher hills. There was no appreciable change in temperatures in spite of clear weather.
As biting cold conditions continued unabated, areas of Rohroo, Chopal and Dodra-Kwar in Shimla, Kinnaur, twin tribal valleys of Lahaul and Spiti and Pangi remained cut off from the rest of the state for the 25th day today while several areas of Kinnaur remained without electricity for the 23rd.
Keylong and Kalpa in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded minimum temperatures of minus 11.1 degrees Celsius and minus 8.6 degree Celsius, three degrees below normal.
The key tourist resort of Manali recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius followed by Shimla and Una at 4.5 degrees Celsius, one to three degrees below normal.
The maximum day temperatures rose by two to three degrees in lower hills and Una was the hottest in the region with a high of 24.8 degrees Celsius.
PTI
