Cold persists in parts of North

Cold conditions on Friday persisted in parts of North India as the mercury settled below normal in some places, even as it went up at various other areas.

In Delhi, the maximum temperature settled two notches below normal at 25.1 degrees Celsius after showing an upward trend for past few days. The minimum temperature remained normal at 12.2 degrees Celsius, Met officials said.

The mercury stayed below normal in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh, where the minimum temperature at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district plummeted by six degrees to stay at minus 9.4 degrees.

The piercing cold wave conditions, however, eased marginally in the middle and lower hills and the region reported no fresh snowfall and rains.

The maximum temperature in these regions stayed above normal by as many as 7 degrees and Una recorded the highest of 26.2 degrees, followed by Solan 25.5 degrees and Bhuntar 24.9 degrees. Cold conditions persisted in most parts of Punjab and Haryana too, where the minimum temperatures were recorded below normal in several parts of the region.

In Punjab, Amritsar saw the mercury drop a notch to stay at 7 degrees, while Karnal in Haryana registered a low of 8.4 degrees, two notches below normal. Hisar in Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh reported minimums of 9.1 degrees each, which was two notches below normal for both cities. The Met office has forecast a rise in both day and night temperatures in the coming 24 hours.