Parts of north India experience rain, uptick in minimum temperatures

New Delhi (PTI): Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan witnessed wet weather on Wednesday, even as multiple places experienced an uptick in minimum temperatures in northern India, including Jammu and Kashmir, where the National Highway was fully restored after being closed due to heavy snowfall earlier.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to moderate rainfall was recorded across most areas in western Uttar Pradesh, with some rainfall also observed in the eastern parts of the state over the past 24 hours.

Thunderstorms occurred in isolated locations in both regions of the state. Hailstorms were reported in one or two places in western Uttar Pradesh, including Bareilly, and gusty winds were experienced across both meteorological subdivisions, officials said.

Rainfall was recorded in Gutraur (Sambhal) 5 cm; Tirva (Kannauj) 4 cm; and 3 cm each at Amroha, Sambhal, Nawabganj (Bareilly), Madawara (Lalitpur), Bharthana (Etawah), Bareilly, Chandpur (Bijnor), Moradabad, Milak (Rampur) and Bilgram (Hardoi).

Night temperatures showed a marked increase in the Gorakhpur and Ayodhya divisions. A significant rise was noted in the Lucknow, Bareilly, and Agra divisions, while temperatures remained largely unchanged in other areas. The lowest minimum temperature in the state was recorded at 9.0 degrees Celsius in Bulandshahr.

Parts of eastern Rajasthan also experienced light to moderate rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, over the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday. The highest rainfall recorded was 26 mm at Manohar Thana in Jhalawar district. Additionally, moderate to dense fog was reported in several areas across the state.

Nagaur registered the lowest minimum temperature at 5.7 degrees Celsius.

The weather office said that from January 28, the weather is likely to remain mainly dry over most parts of the state. Due to strong northerly winds, a drop of 3 to 4 degrees Celsius in temperatures is expected.

In J&K, where fresh snowfall across Kashmir on Tuesday led to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, traffic was fully restored on the NH-44.

According to the officials, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) personnel sprinkled salt and urea to get rid of frosty conditions on the road and ensure safe driving.

The reopening of the highway has come as a relief for the people, especially tourists, who were stranded in the Valley in the wake of its closure following inclement weather.

Meanwhile, the night temperature plunged several degrees below the freezing point at most places in Kashmir on Tuesday. Srinagar, however, recorded warmer-than-expected night temperature -- 0.1 degrees Celsius -- a notch above the season's normal.

Srinagar city and Baramulla town (at 0.4 degrees Celsius) were the only places in Kashmir where the night temperature settled above the freezing point.

Gulmarg in north Kashmir's Baramulla district and Sonamarg in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district were the coldest places in the valley, both recording a low of minus 9.8 degrees Celsius.

The Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Qazigund, the gateway town of the valley, settled at minus 4.3 degrees, while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees and Kupwara minus 0.7 degrees Celsius.

The Kashmir valley is at the fag-end of 'Chilla-i-Kalan', a 40-day period of extreme cold during which night temperatures often drop several degrees below the freezing point, and the chances of snowfall are the highest.

In Himachal, people, however, weren't so lucky, as up to 889 roads, including four National Highways (NHs), remained blocked for traffic movement due to heavy snowfall.

As per the State Emergency Operation Centre, about 292 roads, including NH 03 (Leh-Manali) and NH 505 (Kaza-Gramphu), had been blocked in tribal district Lahaul and Spiti, 176 in Shimla, 128 in Mandi, 99 including NH 305 (Aut-Luhri-Sainj) Kullu, 91 in Chamba, 75 including NH 5 (Ferozpur-Shipki La) in Kinnaur, 20 in Sirmour, 18 in Kinnaur, five in Kangra and three in Una district.

Meanwhile, heavy snowfall occurred in the higher reaches of the state during the last 24 hours, while the middle and lower hills of the state observed light rainfall.

The highest snowfall was recorded in Kothi village in Kullu district, which received 75 cm of snow. Also, Koksar in Lahaul & Spiti district received 51 cm, Khadrala in Shimla district received 40.6 cm, Gondla in Lahaul and Spiti 36 cm, Manali 28 cm, Kalpa in Kinnaur district 17.7 cm, and Kufri near Shimla received 11 cm of snow.

Similarly, Bhuntar in Kullu received 55.4 mm of rain, which was the highest in the state. Also, Bilaspur received 45.6 mm, Kasauli in Solan 44.2 mm, Shimla 29 mm and Dharamshala 23.4 mm.

There was a little relief for the national capital, where the minimum temperature settled at 12.6 degrees Celsius, 4.2 notches above the season's average. However, as the day progressed, Delhi experienced a chilly Wednesday with the maximum temperature settling at 18.4 degrees Celsius, 3.7 notches below the season's average.

Station-wise data showed the maximum temperature at Palam at 16.5 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road at 18 degrees Celsius, Ridge at 17.7 degrees Celsius and Ayanagar at 17 degrees Celsius.

According to IMD observations, the average rainfall recorded till 8.30 am on January 28 since the last 24 hours stood at 4.3 mm at Safdarjung, 14.8 mm at Palam, 3.4 mm at Lodi Road, 14.4 mm at Ridge and 5 mm at Ayanagar.

The rain, however, had little impact on the Air Quality Index (AQI). The average AQI was recorded at 255 in the 'poor' category at 4 pm. It was 294 on Tuesday.

According to the CPCB, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.

In Punjab, Amritsar was the coldest place, recording a minimum temperature of 3.7 degrees Celsius, while Bhiwani in Haryana also reeled under intense chill at 5.5 degrees.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, was engulfed by thick fog in the morning and recorded a maximum of 18.2 degrees Celsius.

According to the Met here, among other places in Punjab, Pathankot recorded a low of 6.5 degrees Celsius, Bathinda 5.5 degrees, Faridkot 4 degrees, while Sri Anandpur Sahib registered a low of 7.6 degrees Celsius.

However, at places like Ludhiana and Patiala, the minimum temperatures hovered above normal limits. Both places recorded respective lows of 10.4 degrees and 11.1 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, cold weather conditions prevailed in Sirsa, which recorded a low of 6 degrees Celsius. Narnaul also recorded a low of 6 degrees Celsius.

However, Ambala, Hisar, Karnal and Rohtak recorded above normal minimums at 12 degrees, 11.6 degrees, 11.9 degrees and 12.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Meanwhile, the day temperatures in Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday hovered in the range of 16-18 degrees Celsius at many places, which were below normal limits by a few notches.