Cold wave sweeps north India; mercury plunges in Delhi, UP, Punjab and hills

Additionally, Bathinda in Punjab and Bikaner in Rajasthan reported zero visibility, while it dropped to 50 metres and below at Ambala, Hisar, Amritsar, Patiala, Ganganagar, Churu, and Bareilly.

Foggy conditions will persist in these areas over the next few days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The IMD has declared a cold wave as the minimum temperature dipped to 4 degrees Celsius.

A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches below normal. A “severe” cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.

Bihar:

Patna’s district magistrate has ordered closure of schools for students up to class 8 till year-end in view of cold wave conditions.

Kashmir:

The minimum temperature in Kashmir rose by a couple of degrees but stayed below the freezing point offering little respite from cold conditions.

The intense cold conditions led to the freezing of water supply lines in many areas as well as the freezing of the interiors of the Dal Lake.

Punjab and Haryana:

The visibility remained low throughout Punjab, with Amritsar recording visibility of 25 metres and Ambala 50.

Haryana too recorded low visibility. While places like Ambala and Hissar recorded a low of 25m and 50m respectively, visibility in Chandigarh was 200 metres.

Rajasthan:

According to IMD data, places like Sri Ganganagar and Churu in Rajasthan also recorded low visibility of 25 and 50 meters, respectively.

Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal also recorded very low visibility on the day with the number dipping to 50 metres in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, while North Bengal recorded visibility of 200 meters.