Mercury dipped the lowest in these places in India

IMD head Kuldeep Srivastava has said that strong western disturbances caused widespread snowfall in the Western Himalayas with cold waves blowing towards the northern plains.

Winter is here with its cold chilly waves freezing north India. The national capital of Delhi has been recording severe dips in mercury since past few days and is projected to record colder days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Tourists exploring snow capped peaks after a fresh spell of snowfall, at Kufri, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. (Photo by Deepak Sansta / Hindustan Times)

The Capital is not alone in witnessing a massive drop in temperatures accompanied by chilly waves but most parts of North India including states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh are also witnessing severe winter waves.

IMD head Kuldeep Srivastava has said that strong western disturbances caused widespread snowfall in the Western Himalayas with cold waves blowing towards the northern plains. IMD considers a cold day in the plains when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or lower and maximum is 4.5 degrees less than normal for two consecutive days.

Met officials have said that the strong northwesterly winds will continue and sweep the rest of the northern plains under it till December 21. A bit increase in temperature is projected after December 21.

Here are the coldest places in India as of today:

1. Sikar in Rajasthan was the chilliest place with the minimum temperature of 0.5 degrees Celsius, while the night temperature in Mount Abu dipped to -1 degree Celsius.

2. In Delhi, the lowest temperature was recorded in the Ridge area where the mercury dipped to 3.5 degrees Celsius.

3. In Haryana and Chandigarh, Narnaul was the chilliest with the minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees Celsius.

4. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded the minimum temperature of 4.2 degrees Celsius.

5. Bareily in Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest dip with 3.3 degrees Celsius minimum temperature.

6. Himachal Pradesh’s Keylong was the coldest place on Thursday, shivering at minus 8 degrees Celsius, MeT Shimla centre director Manmohan Singh said.