NN Weather: Bone-chilling cold grips Haryana, Punjab, mercury drops to zero in Karnal

The bone-chilling cold wave gripped Haryana and Punjab as mercury plunged to freezing levels in some parts of the two states. In Haryana, Karnal saw season’s coldest day where the temperature dropped to zero on Sunday morning following fresh snowfall in mountainous regions of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. This was seven degree below the normal temperature and lowest in the two adjoining states. Besides Karnal, the mercury dropped below the normal level at several other places in Haryana. The minimum temperature in Hisar, Ambala and Narnaul was recorded at 2.7, 4.6 and 2 degrees Celsius, respectively. In Rohtak, Bhiwani and Sirsa, the minimum temperature was recorded at 3.8, 5.5 and 3.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

In Punjab, Adampur recorded the minimum temperature at 0.2 degree Celsius to remain the coldest place in the state. The lowest temperature in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Pathankot, Halwara and Bathinda was at 2.2, 1.4, 4.7, 3.1, 2.2 and 2.4 degrees Celsius, respectively. The joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, shivered at 4.6 degrees Celsius.

Also Read | Delhi shivers at 3.7 degrees Celsius, coldest December in 12 years

Following the recent snowfall in the mountainous belt, cold wave prevailed in the northern state of Rajasthan as well. Weather office warned of bone-chilling cold wave in Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Sirohi, Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Hanumangarh, Jalore, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Sriganganagar districts over the next few days. Fatehpur Shekhawati town in Sikar district remained the coldest place in the state where the temperature has been 2.6 degree in minus for over a week.

In the last 48 hours, the desert town of Churu recorded a minimum of 1.1 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature in Sikar, Bhilwara and Pilani was recorded at 2, 2.4, and 2.7 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, national capital Delhi recorded the month's coldest day in the last 12 years due to the radiation cooling phenomenon. The minimum temperature in the capital was recorded at 3.7 degrees Celsius, about four notches below the season's average.

Also Read | Heavy snowfall in Himachal, Kashmir; MHA advises precautions

“The heavy snowfall — early for this time of the year — in Jammu and Kashmir, parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, has triggered cold winds that are reaching Delhi. The predicted cold wave conditions are mainly because the sky is clear and in the absence of any cloud layer, the cold winds rapidly cool the earth. This phenomenon is called radiation cooling,” the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.