Cold Wave Grips North India, Snowfall Predicted, Temperature Falls Sharply
North India snapped yesterday in the icy grip as temperatures dropped below the freezing level everywhere in the country and dense fog had become its hallmark. Most of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan were affected severely due to its rise, which included quite a few places having reported minimum levels closing in or almost touching freezinglevels. Meanwhile, however, there was a temporary reprieve for national capital Delhi which basked under bright sun conditions and soared further during day as temperatures registered increases.
Severe Cold Strikes North India
Cold situation turns sharp in Valley where night temperature sank below freezing zero level across the region.
In Jammu and Kashmir summer capital Srinagar minimum temperature further plunged to -1°C in city and district from 0.9°C a night back. One of the valley’s most favorite tourist destinations-Gulmarg-witnessed the lowest at minus 9.8° C, while Pahalgam, another renowned tourist destination witnessed a low at minus 8.2 degree Celsius. All these temperatures in conjunction with the icy winds, it is being very difficult to people going out and do their work.
On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir is expected to experience a further chill in the coming days. The Meteorological Department stated on Sunday that temperatures would continue to fall further with a chance of cold waves in the next two to three days, primarily in isolated areas of the valley. The department had also forecast light rain or snow in parts of the state on Saturday, which would add to the chill in the area.
Yellow Warning in Himachal Pradesh.
A cold wave had gripped many districts of the state, and forecasters have also issued a yellow warning for coming days. Many regions of the state, including Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, and Mandi, would likely remain under dense fog and ground frost. The temperature in Una was reported as rarely crossing the freeze mark at just 1.2°C.
The minimum temperature recorded in the night was minus 13.6 degrees Celsius in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district Tabo. However, the state of Himachal Pradesh witnessed largely dry weather over the last 24 hours, notwithstanding the severe weather. But snowfall is likely to occur in the high hills of the state by Saturday and Sunday. Isolated snowfall is also expected in the Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts over the weekend, said the weather department.
Temperature falls in Rajasthan and Punjab.
Minimum temperatures were reported as low as 1.1°C in Fatehpur, which falls under the Sikar district, from most of the worst-affected districts in the Rajasthan state after the cold wave. Noted falls were seen in several of the districts like Nagaur, Sirohi and Churu. Temperatures dropped to 6.4°C at Jaipur, state capital. The rest of the remaining districts of Bhilwara, Dausa, and Sikar have also recorded minimum between 4 and 5 degrees Celsius.
The cold wave is accompanied by very thick fog over numerous places in the states of Punjab and Haryana. For example, Amritsar had its visibility completely dropped to near zero levels. A minimum of 80 meters was reported in Chandigarh, the capital city shared between these two. A minimum in Punjab was reported at Sangrur-3°C at Amritsar-3.5°C whereas normal during this period remains much above both these temperatures.
Delhi witness sunny lull. National Capital Delhi saw an extremely rare reprieve from burning chill on Wednesday, as the Sun came out bright in the afternoon and there had been a drastic increase in temperature during the daytime. The Maximum temperatures on the day at Delhi 21.5 degree Celsius recorded 2.5 degrees more than the normal for the season. But the morning was quite cold as the minimum temperature dipped to 7.4°C, the lowest in the country on the day when it was 10.5°C in Delhi on Tuesday. Dense fog enveloped the city so much so that there was zero visibility in the morning hours. As the fog cleared, residents of Delhi saw bright and relatively warmer afternoons.
The India Meteorological Department forecasted that cold wave conditions would continue prevailing over the region. It could further fall by nearly 2 degrees Celsius in many parts of northwest India, including Delhi, by next 24 hours.
Thereafter, a rise in temperature up to 2-4 degrees Celsius will gradually take place, IMD said. End
Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir in north India have received cold wave warnings by weathermen. The weather office says the cold wave conditions could continue in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan till Friday. From Friday through Saturday, cold wave may grip Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh too.
The IMD has also predicted that isolated places in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh will experience snowfall during the weekend. This will increase the chill already prevailing in the region. Northwest India, particularly Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, can expect more rain and snow as a western disturbance moves into the region during the latter half of the week.
Effect on Day-to-Day Life
Intense cold wave has already brought extreme weathers to peoples in northern Indian. Dense fogs that have engulfed places such as Punjab and Haryana had made pretty difficult to manage a clear vision across these places in the resultant transport misery. Low visions are creating inconvenience to the air and railway departments also. People were thus being appealed to be warm. Besides, weather has already caused problems to the farmers, that is to those in Punjab mainly by inflicting damage due to frost to the crops.
Whereas in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Himachal Pradesh, people have to fight subzero temperatures that have posed a challenge to life in regions of high altitude. Hypothermia and frost-bite pose an immediate threat in the affected areas and night requires extra precautions by people.
Conclusion:The cold wave seems to be digging itself deeper into north India as the region prepares for the more unfriendly weather ahead, which could include even colder temperatures and even possibilities of snowfall and dense fog. While authorities continue to issue advisories and warnings in a barrage of attempts to make people go through such a harsh situation, weather experts claim temperatures might rise by the weekend. The chill is expected to continue and to invade even more the daily life this time with safety in mind in this chill.