Cold wave conditions in north India, sunny day in east

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New Delhi: Cold wave conditions prevailed in north India, with dense fog affecting rail, road and air traffic at several places in the region on Sunday while eastern part of the country witnessed a sunny day which brought much needed respite to the people.

Wintry conditions prevailed in the national capital, as shallow fog engulfed most part of the city and minimum temperature dipped to 8 degrees Celsius. But, the day temperature was recorded three notches above the normal, at 23.8 deg C.

35 trains were delayed while 14 Delhi-bound were rescheduled due to fog in Northern states, said a Railway spokesperson.

MeT department has forecast thunderstorm and rain on Republic day.

Intense cold wave conditions prevailed in most parts of Himachal Pradesh with high altitude tribal areas witnessing minus 15 to minus 22 degrees C.

Keylong and Kalpa in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded a low of minus 6.7 deg C and minus 2.6 deg C, followed by Manali and Solan 2 deg C, Shimla 4 deg C, Palampur and Nahan 7.5 deg C, Dharamsala 7.8 deg C and Una 8.6 deg C. Khadrala and Kalpa recorded 6 cm of fresh snow while Rohru and?Nahan 4 mm of rains while Dharampur 2 mm.

Heavy to very heavy snowfall warning in mid and higher hills of Himachal has been predicted on January 24 and 25 while wet spell in western Himalayan region between January 23 to January 27, due to fresh western disturbance.

All natural sources of water like lakes, springs, rivulets and tributaries of major rivers are frozen, drastically reducing the discharge of water in snow-fed Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers, affecting hydropower generation.

In Jammu and Kashmir, fresh snowfall was recorded in many areas, especially in the higher reaches of Kashmir, leading to the closure of Srinagar-Jammu national highway, even as more wet weather has been forecast over the next few days.

Leh town of Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place in the state as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius - up from the previous night's minus 13.9 degrees Celsius.

Met Department has forecast fairly widespread rains or snow tomorrow, widespread rains or snow over three days from January 24-26 and scattered rains or snow a day after.

Many parts of the Valley experienced fresh snowfall last night with the plains, including Srinagar, witnessing light snow in the wee hours. 

Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded 4 cm of fresh snowfall

during the last 24 hours, while Pahalgam hill resort recorded 13 cm of fresh snow. Srinagar recorded 0.8 cm of fresh snowfall.

Fresh snowfall in the areas along the arterial road, the only all-weather road-link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, forced its closure.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' considered the harshest period of winter, when the chances of snowfall are maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

The Valley has already experienced heavy snowfall twice during this period so far, first one of January 6 and then on January 16, throwing life out of gear on both occasions.

'Chillai-Kalan', which, began on December 21 last year, ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that.

The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai- Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).

The night temperature across the Valley and Ladakh region, except in Qazigund, increased by few notches.

Famous health resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, registered a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, up from the previous night's minus 7.2 degrees Celsius.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 6.0 degrees Celsius, four degrees up from minus 10 degrees Celsius yesterday.

Meanwhile, rise in minimum temperature in Punjab and Haryana brought some relief from cold wave conditions for the people.

Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded a minimum of 9.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded 7 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal, Ludhiana and Patiala 8.3 degrees Celsius and 9.1 degrees Celsius, respectively, up to four notches above normal.

In Haryana, minimum temperature in Ambala was 11.6 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal while that of Hisar and Karnal were 7.2 deg C and 9.8 deg C respectively.

Narnaul braved cold weather at 9.2 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal.

Dense fog at several place also affected rail, road and air traffic in both states, officials said.

Meanwhile, in Bihar, cold weather condition appears to have eased as sun shone brightly in most parts of the state.

Day temperature in major towns like Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea remained above 25 degrees Celsius.

Gaya recorded the minimum temperature at 8.3 degrees C, followed by Patna at 9.1 deg C, Purnea at 9.2 deg C and Bhagalpur at 11.2 deg C.