Temperatures dipped to 0 degrees in Faridkot; IMD issues severe cold wave alert till Dec 23 in Punjab

Delhi-NCR cold wave: Even as temperatures dip in the national capital to minimum 5.9 degree Celsius, it is Punjab and Haryana that are witnessing an ongoing cold wave. In fact, minimum temperature in Punjab’s Faridkot dipped to 0 degree Celsius, making it the coldest place in the region on Tuesday. 

Faridkot has been experiencing severe cold for the past few days, but other cities in Punjab are not faring much better. For instance, Amritsar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.6 per cent, Ludhiana and Patiala recording 4.8 degree Celsius, Pathankot 2.8 degree Celsius, Bathinda 3 degree Celsius and Gurdaspur 3.5 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh recorded a low of 6.6 degree Celsius. 

Haryana’s Hisar recorded 1.6 degree Celsius, Sirsa 2.6 degree Celsius, Karnal 4.6 degree Celsius, Rohtak 5.6 degrees and Bhiwani 5.7 degrees Celsius. Temperatures dipped to 6.2 degrees in Gurugram, 6.7 degrees in Kurukshetra, and 7.4 degrees Celsius in Ambala. 

IMD COLD WAVE ALERT

IMD has issued cold to severe cold wave conditions alert in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab during December 17-21 period, in isolated pockets of Punjab on December 22-23, and East Rajasthan on December 19-22. 

“Cold wave conditions very likely in isolated pockets over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarab and West Rajasthan during 17th-23rd, Haryana-Chandigarh during 17th-22nd, East Rajasthan on 17th, 18th & 23rd, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana on 17th, Himachal Pradesh on 22nd & 23rd December,” stated the met department. 

IMD stated that minimum temperatures were below normal over most parts of the country except South Peninsular India and Northeast India. These temperatures were markedly below normal (-5 degree Celsius or less) at isolated places over Telangana,  appreciably below normal (-3 to -5 degree Celsius) at a few places over Madhya Maharashtra, at isolated places over Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, Konkan and North Interior Karnataka, below normal (-1 to -3 degree Celsius) at a few places over Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat State, and at isolated places over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh -Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam & Meghalaya, Odisha, West Bengal & Sikkim, Coastal Karnataka.