North India continues to reel under cold wave conditions; no 'white Christmas' in Srinagar, Shimla

New Delhi: North India continued to reel under severe cold wave conditions on Wednesday though tourists in favourite destinations such as Srinagar and Shimla remained deprived of witnessing a "white Christmas".

Srinagar recorded a low of minus 7.3 degrees Celsius while Tabo in the Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in Himachal Pradesh, recording a night temperature of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius. Cold weather conditions persisted in states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 22.4 degrees Celsius on Christmas Day, two notches above the season's average. The minimum temperature in the national capital was recorded at 8.4 degrees Celsius, 1.5 notches below normal.

Minimum temperatures decreased at most places in Kashmir as the valley continued to reel under intense cold conditions, leading to the freezing of several water bodies and water supply lines in many areas.

The Met office has predicted a dip of two to three degrees in the minimum temperatures in Kashmir over the next two days.

Except in Gulmarg, the night temperatures plummeted across all other weather stations in the Kashmir valley.

Currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan', the harshest winter period of 40 days that started on December 21, the Kashmir valley is experiencing below-normal maximum as well as minimum temperatures for this time of the season, the officials said.

The fall in the mercury has led to the freezing of water supply lines even as a thin layer of ice covered the surface of several water bodies, including the Dal Lake.

The city was colder than Gulmarg, a tourist resort town known for skiing activities in north Kashmir, where the mercury settled at a low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius, up from minus 7.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the department added.

However, tourists lamented not witnessing snow fall in Srinagar on Chirstmas. The summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir has had no snowfall so far this season.

"We felt good, we enjoyed a lot. There is no danger, people live together with brotherhood and we celebrated Christmas," Poonam, a tourist from Jammu, said.

"It is colder. Kashmir used to have white Christmas and it was great, but this year, there has been no snowfall in Srinagar and people are facing difficulties. We pray for a good snowfall," she added.

Snowfall in Himachal has led to closure of 226 roads, including three national highways, officials said.

People shivered under piercing cold wave conditions as minimum temperatures dropped by a few notches in Jot, which received 10 cm of snow in the past 24 hours.

According to the state emergency operation centre, a maximum of 123 roads were closed in Shimla district, 36 in Lahaul and Spiti and 25 in Kullu.

Additionally, 173 transformers were disrupted, affecting power supply across the state.

The hopes of locals and tourists to experience a white Christmas in the Queen of Hills, Shimla, were dashed as the city was greeted by bright sunshine on Wednesday morning.

The Met office has predicted rain and snow at isolated places in some parts of the state, particularly in Shimla, from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, with precipitation expected to peak on Saturday.

Many areas of Rajasthan were enveloped with dense fog as cold conditions persisted in the state on Wednesday.

In the last 24 hours, light rain occurred at one place in eastern Rajasthan while fog and dense fog prevailed at many places. A 'cold day' was recorded at some places in western Rajasthan.

Cold weather conditions persisted in Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday with Faridkot recording the lowest minimum temperature at 4.2 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a minimum temperature of 5.4 degrees Celsius, Amritsar 5.7 degrees Celsius and Gurdaspur 5.5 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, Narnaul was the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 5.2 degrees Celsius.

Hisar recorded a low of 6.8 degrees Celsius, Karnal and Sirsa 8 degrees Celsius, and Gurugram 9.3 degrees Celsius.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 7.4 degrees Celsius.

Weather across Uttar Pradesh cleared up on Wednesday afternoon following two days of rain caused by western disturbances, MeT officials said.

The light drizzle on Monday and Tuesday had resulted in fog and noticeable drop in temperatures, further intensifying the cold conditions over the past 48 hours.

According to the India Meteorological Department forecast, the weather is expected to remain clear on Thursday before rains resume from December 27.

On Wednesday morning, Lucknow recorded 0.5 mm of rainfall, leading to drop by 1.5 degrees Celsius in the day's temperature.