Winter chill grips Rajasthan, Odisha, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir

A paramilitary trooper stands guard along a street on a cold evening in Srinagar. Pic/AFP

The minimum temperature in many places of Rajasthan has plunged below zero degree Celsius, with Fatehpur registering the lowest on Saturday at minus 3.3 degrees, according to the Met Department.

The mercury also dipped in Bhilwara, which logged a minimum temperature of 1 degree, Churu minus 1.1 degree, Sikar 0.7 degree, Nagaur 0.3 degree, Ganganagar 1.1 degree and Hanumangarh 0.7 degree. The department has issued a severe cold wave alert in the state for next few days. Westerly winds coming from the Himalayas have started impacting the state leading to the plunge in the mercury, officials have confirmed.

Meanwhile, cold wave conditions continued to grip several places of Odisha with the mercury dipping below 12 degrees Celsius at 12 places during the past 24 hours, IMD said on Saturday. According to the morning bulletin of Bhubaneswar Centre of IMD, the lowest minimum temperature of 7 degrees was recorded at Phulbani town, while Daringbadi and Koraput recorded a minimum temperature of 7.5 degrees Celsius each.

Amid the biting winter chill, the minimum temperature in the national capital too might further dip to 5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, according to the IMD forecast on Saturday. Delhi will continue to witness colder weather in the coming days, the IMD said, adding that "snowfall in many areas of Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh is having an impact on the plains". The national capital witnessed moderate fog on Saturday morning, while the sky will remain clear during the day, the IMD said.

Mercury continued to plunge in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as well on Saturday with Srinagar and Jammu recording this season's coldest night at minus 6 and 2.3 degrees Celsius, respectively, according to the Met Department. "At minus 6.0 and 2.3 degrees Celsius, Srinagar and Jammu recorded the coldest night of the season so far today," a Department official said. Pahalgam recorded minus 8.3 degrees and Gulmarg minus 8.5 as their minimum temperature. Meanwhile, Drass town of Ladakh recorded minus 20.3 and Leh minus 15.3 as the night's lowest temperature, the official added. The minimum temperature in Katra was 2.8 degrees, Batote minus 1.1, Banihal minus 1.2 and Bhaderwah minus 2.9.

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