Freezing cold in northern India, the temperature in Abu is -7.8 degrees

Delhi froze at 3.6 degrees amid peasant agitation

The cold snap in northern India was exacerbated by renewed snowfall in the Himalayas and cold and dry winds blowing north and northwest from the western Himalayas. Mount Abu, Rajasthan's only hill station, recorded -5.4 degrees Celsius and Gurushikhar -7.8 degrees Celsius due to the cold snap. In Delhi, on the other hand, the temperature was recorded at 3.6 degrees Celsius. The meteorological department said western disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand had led to renewed hailstorms in scattered mountainous areas.

Keylong in Himachal recorded minus 10.7 degrees Celsius, Mumbai recorded the lowest temperature of the season at 15 degrees Celsius. 

Rajasthan also saw a significant drop in temperature at several places. Mount Abu, the only hill station in Rajasthan, rose to -4.5 degrees Celsius, while Gurushikhar, Abu's peak, recorded -7.8 degrees Celsius. It was the coldest night of the season. Tourists as well as locals were stranded in Mount Abu due to the freezing cold. In addition, as the temperature dropped, the land of Abu was covered with ice. The water in the lake was also frozen. The meteorological department has warned of severe cold in more than a dozen districts of the state till December 31.

A chill was felt in Mumbai

Mumbaikars also felt the chill on Tuesday. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 15 degrees, the lowest temperature of the season, the meteorological department said. The cold spell will continue in North India for the next 48 hours. The meteorological department said cold and dry winds from the western Himalayas have further lowered the minimum temperature in the plains of northern India. The temperature in Delhi dropped to 3.6 degrees Celsius. Cold snaps can cause mercury to drop another two degrees on New Year's Eve in the plains.

Gulmarg is the coldest city in Kashmir with -7.5 degrees

Fresh snowfall in most parts of Kashmir has disrupted normal life in tourism and business centers. Snowfall started at 7.00 am in Srinagar, Budgam, and Pulwama districts. The ski resort at Gulmarg in north Kashmir received 7 inches of snow while the Pahalgam resort received 3 to 4 inches of snow. Gulmarg became the coldest city with -7.5 degrees while the average temperature remained below zero in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

The average temperature in the state ranged from zero to 3 degrees

Even in Himachal Pradesh, the cold became more severe as the average temperature dropped by one to two degrees. Temperatures were below zero in Keylong, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Kufri. Keylong was the coldest city in the state with -10.3 degrees. There was 0.6 mm of snowfall here. Other areas of the state recorded temperatures ranging from minus 0.1 to -3.0 degrees. Popular tourist spot Shimla had a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius.

Visibility reduced due to heavy fog in Uttar Pradesh

In most parts of Haryana and Punjab too, people were crushed by the cold wave. The minimum temperature here in Hisar was zero degrees, which was 6 degrees below the average temperature. It was the coldest night of the season in many areas including Hisar, Narnaul, Amritsar and Chandigarh. Temperatures in these areas ranged from zero to 3.5 degrees. Light to heavy fog was observed in many parts of Uttar Pradesh due to cold winds. As a result visibility was reduced. Bareilly recorded the lowest temperature of 4.2 degrees in the state.