Cold wave sweeps North India; snowfall in Himachal, J&K, rain in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana

NEW DELHI: Cold weather conditions continued to prevail in most parts of north India with the minimum temperatures rising several degrees above the normal in Punjab and Haryana, Delhi-NCR receiving a light rainfall and heavy snowfall in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. 

According to the MeT department, Punjab's Gurdaspur remained the coldest place in the region with 4.8 degrees Celsius. Union Territory Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, experienced cold weather conditions at 10.9 degrees Celsius, five degrees above the normal, the official said.

Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala experienced cold weather conditions at 11 degrees Celsius, 11.2 degrees Celsius and 10.6 degrees Celsius respectively, which is up to seven degrees above the normal, he said.

While Pathankot, Adampur, Halwara, Bathinda and Faridkot recorded their respective lows at 12.7 degrees Celsius, 10.8 degrees Celsius, 10.5 degrees Celsius, 5.8 degrees Celsius and 10.2 degrees Celsius, the weatherman said.

In Haryana, Ambala, Hisar and Karnal recorded their respective minimums at 11.5 degrees Celsius, 11.9 degrees Celsius and 12 degrees Celsius, up to five degrees above the normal, he said.

Bhiwani, Sirsa, Rohtak and Narnaul recorded lows up to six degrees above the normal at 12 degrees Celsius, 11.9 degrees Celsius, 9 degrees Celsius and 10.8?degrees Celsius respectively, the official said.

The MeT department has also predicted widespread rains in most parts of Punjab and Haryana on Monday and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Bikram Singh, Director Met Department, has said that heavy rainfall/snowfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Nainital and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday.

''Hail storm likely to occur at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand on January 22, 2019,'' Singh said.

Bikram Singh, Director MeT Department: Hail storm likely to occur at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand on 22 January 2019. https://t.co/WlAUSEzAFm — ANI (@ANI) 21 January 2019

4 flights cancelled, 11 delayed due to bad weather in J&K 

Bad weather conditions disrupted operations at the Srinagar International Airport here, leading to the cancellation of four flights on Monday.

Due to the inclement weather, four of the 27 flights to and fro the Srinagar airport were cancelled on Monday, an official of the Airport Authority of India said.

Another 11 flights got delayed due to poor visibility and intermittent rainfall since Monday morning. 

Fresh snowfall in Himachal 

After days of dry weather, cold intensified its grip across Himachal Pradesh on Monday with the higher reaches receiving fresh snowfall.

The weather bureau also warned of some heavy spells of snow and rain that were likely to hit the state till Wednesday. The temperature remained near freezing point at many places after an overnight spell of snow and rain, a Met official said.

The state capital, which saw cloudy skies, saw a low of 6.9 degrees Celsius, while Kalpa, some 250 km from here, experienced 1.2 cm of snow, the official said.

Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti district, saw eight cm of snow.

Keylong recorded minus 3.2 degree Celsius, while it was minus 1.2 in Kalpa, 1.6 in Manali, 2.2 in Dalhousie, 3.1 in Kufri and 5.2 degrees in Dharamsala.

Picturesque tourist resort Manali saw four mm rain but its nearby hills like the Solang ski slopes, Kothi, Gulaba and the Rohtang Pass, 52 km from Manali, have been experiencing snow.

"The high hills of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla and Chamba districts have been experiencing light to moderate snowfall," said the weather official.

He said moderate to heavy snowfall may occur across the state over the next two day. People in the area and tourists have been advised not to venture in the high hills.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Dalhousie and Manali are likely to have moderate spells of snowfall, he added.