North India reels under cold wave, Delhi records season's lowest at 3.4 degree

NEW DELHI: Northern India continued to suffer a severe cold wave with Delhi recording this season’s lowest temperature of 3.4°C, nearly 5 degrees below normal and Amritsar just one degree above freezing point on Sunday.

However, some reprieve is likely as temperatures are set to rise in the next two days, the weather office said. "Gradual rise in minimum and maximum temperatures by 2-3°C very likely over plains of northwest & adjoining central India during next 48 hours," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement.

The capital region is currently experiencing a fifth consecutive day of the cold wave. According to IMD, cold wave conditions are met in non-mountainous regions when the mercury falls below 10°C, and the minimum temperature is at least 4.5°C below its normal temperature.


While Safdarjung, which provides the representative data for Delhi, saw 3.4°C, Lodhi Road recorded a minimum of 3.3°C. Palam and Ayanagar observatories saw 6°C and 6.4°C respectively.

"The current spell of cold wave/severe cold wave conditions over northwest & adjoining central India likely to abate from 22nd December," IMD's statement further said.