Cold wave reaches Hyderabad, parts of North India shiver in below 0 deg C | Key points

Several parts of Telangana, including Hyderabad, also experienced cold wave conditions as mercury levels dropped to single digits in some areas on Monday.

Cold wave conditions have been prevailing in several parts of the country, including Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Odisha and also Delhi, where the Air Quality Index (AQI) has plummeted again to ‘severe’ category and prompted the need for the reimposition of Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) curbs.

An area surrounding houses is covered in snow as Gurez Valley receives snowfall, in Bandipora on Sunday. (ANI)

In parts of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, temperatures have gone below freezing point. While Himachal Pradesh's Tabo in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti was coldest at night, recording a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius on Monday night, Kashmir's Srinagar froze with a minimum temperature of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius.

Cold wave conditions in India | Key points

• Delhi weather: Delhi on Monday recorded a minimum temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius, 4.1 degrees below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This was the fourth time in December when the minimum temperature dropped below 5 degrees Celsius, with cold wave conditions observed in Pusa, AS as per the IMD.
• GRAP 4 curbs return in Delhi: Amid a double whammy of cold wave conditions and worsening AQI in the city, GRAP 4 restrictions were reimposed from Monday night, citing ‘highly unfavourable meteorological conditions’. including a ban on all construction activities, as the region's air quality deteriorated to 'severe' due to unfavourable weather conditions. GRAP 4 curbs include a ban on the entry of polluting trucks carrying non-essential goods into Delhi and mandatory shifting of school classes, except those for X and XII, to hybrid mode.
• Cold wave in Kashmir: Kashmir has been in the grip of intense cold wave, with the minimum temperature staying several degrees below freezing point, officials said on Monday. Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night. Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius, slightly down from the night before. Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius which was marginally below the previous night's minus 4.8 degrees Celsius.

Tourists visit a frozen waterfall at Drung area on a cold winter morning, in Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir, (PTI)

The MeT office has forecast mainly dry weather till December 26 with possibility of light snowfall in higher reaches of the valley on the night of December 21-22. However, the minimum temperature is forecast to fall further in the valley and there will be a cold wave over many stations during the next three days, it said.

• Rajasthan weather: Extreme cold conditions prevailed in parts of Rajasthan as Fatehpur in Sikar district recorded a low of minus 0.4 degree Celsius, the weather department said on Monday. Cold waves to extreme cold wave conditions were recorded at some places in the state where the night temperature was below 10 degrees Celsius.

According to the MeT department, the minimum temperature in Churu settled at 1.5 degrees in, while it was 2.2 degrees in Alwar, 2.5 degrees in Sikar, 2.7 degrees in Sangaria and Pilani, 3.7 degrees in Bhilwara and Chittorgarh, 4.9 degrees in Sirohi and 5.0 degrees Celsius in Ganganagar.

• Cold wave in Odisha, Telangana: While the eastern state of Odisha witnessed cold weather conditions as 15 places recorded temperatures below 10 degree Celsius with Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district being the coldest in the state at 1 degree Celsius on Monday, several parts of Telangana, including Hyderabad, also experienced cold wave conditions as mercury levels dropped to single digits in some areas.

Telangana's Adilabad recorded a minimum temperature of 5.2 degrees Celsius, followed by Patancheru near Hyderabad (6.4), Rajendranagar in Hyderabad (8.5), and Medak (9), according to the Met Centre of IMD’s Daily Weather Report, citing data recorded at 08.30 am on Monday.

• Punjab also reels under cold wave: Punjab and Haryana also remained in the grip of biting cold with Faridkot and Hisar recording a low of 0.6 degrees Celsius each on Monday. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two stated, on Monday recorded 26.1 degrees Celsius, more than three notches above normal limits.

Ludhiana and Patiala registered respective minimums of 3.6 degrees and 5.3 degrees Celsius. Gurdaspur and Bathinda also experienced a cold night, recording respective temperatures of 3 degrees and 3.2 deg C. Gurugram in Haryana recorded a low of 5.3 degrees while Rohtak registered a low of 4.2 degrees.

Snow covered hills after the season's first snowfall, in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, (PTI)

• Minus 10 deg C in Himachal Pradesh: Parts of the hill state of Himachal Pradesh are also witnessing an intense cold wave conditions, with the MeT department issued an “orange” warning of severe cold at isolated places in the lower hills and plain areas of Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur on Monday. Tabo in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti was coldest at night, recording a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, Shimla remained warmest for the second consecutive night recording a minimum temperature at 10.9 degree Celsius, 5.2 degrees Celsius above normal. The local MeT office on Sunday issued a yellow warning of cold wave at isolated places in the lower hills and plain areas till Thursday, besides dry weather in the state over the next seven days.