Snowfall, rain in Kashmir; fog undeterred in Delhi, Punjab, UP

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) The year-end chill settled unevenly over northern India on Sunday as snowfall in the upper reaches and rain in the plains pushed up the minimum temperature in Jammu and Kashmir, while Punjab and Haryana witnessed cold day conditions, with fog affecting visibility in parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy snowfall and rainfall, accompanied by snowstorms at isolated places over the higher reaches of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and northeast Himachal Pradesh until Monday.

In the national capital, a day after the coldest December day this season, the minimum temperature settled at 9.4 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees above the season's average whereas the maximum temperature settled at 18.1, according to the IMD.

The weather department has forecast moderate fog for Monday with maximum and minimum temperature expected to hover around 21 degrees Celsius and 9 degrees Celsius.

Palam recorded its lowest visibility at 300 metres due to moderate fog between 10 pm and 12.30 am IST, which later improved to 600 metres in shallow fog. East-southeasterly winds were blowing at around 7 kmph, the IMD said.

At Safdarjung, visibility dropped to its lowest at 200 metres in moderate fog between 1.30 am and 2.30 am IST. It gradually improved to 500 metres in shallow fog by 5.30 am IST, according to the IMD.

The IMD further said that visibility at Palam again fell to 350 metres, with east-southeasterly winds at 7 kmph, while shallow fog continued at Safdarjung with visibility around 500 metres and variable winds till 9 am IST.

A total of 97 flights were cancelled and over 200 delayed due to low visibility conditions amid fog at the Delhi airport on Sunday.

The Airport Authority of India officials told PTI that at least 11 flights were cancelled also at the Srinagar International Airport due to the weather conditions.

In Jammu and Kashmir, snowfall marked the beginning of 'Chillai-Kalan', the 40-day harshest winter period lasting between December 21 and January 30.

At 4 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature in Srinagar on Sunday was six notches above normal, as the city recorded its warmest night this winter, according to the weather department.

Snowfall was reported from the Gulmarg tourist resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, where nearly two inches of snow has accumulated.

In the tourist resort of Sonamarg on the Srinagar-Kargil highway, snowfall began early Sunday morning and was going on till at least afternoon, officials said.

Sadhna Top, the pass connecting the Tangdhar sector along the Line of Control to the main Kashmir Valley, received moderate snowfall with six inches of snow accumulating since Saturday night.

Light rainfall began in Srinagar and elsewhere in the valley overnight and was going on intermittently, officials said.

Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the only weather station to record a sub-zero temperature as the mercury settled at minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, 5 degrees above normal for this time of the year.

The rest of the weather stations, including Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, recorded minimum temperatures between 2.5 degrees Celsius and 3.8 degrees Celsius.

The precipitation in Kashmir ended a prolonged dry spell, which led to a spike in common ailments such as cough and cold, especially among children and the elderly.

The rain and snow on the first day of Chillai-Kalaan is locally seen as a good omen and a precursor to plenty of snow.

A dry winter last year caused severe problems for the residents and the tourism players.

The Chillai-Kalaan (big cold) period will end on January 30. It will be followed by 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and 'Chillai-Bacha' (baby cold).

In Himachal Pradesh, the IMD said a moderate to severe snowstorm is likely at isolated places in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts.

The two districts, along with Chamba, are also predicted to see light to moderate precipitation.

The IMD said dense fog is likely at isolated places in Una, Bilaspur (Bhakhra dam reserve), and Mandi (Balh valley) districts during late night and early morning hours of December 21 and 22.

In Punjab and Haryana, however, the winter chill intensified, as a thick blanket of fog enveloped several areas in Haryana and Punjab.

Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place in the state, with mercury dipping to 5.2 degrees Celsius, the Met department said.

In Punjab, Gurdaspur was the coldest place, with a minimum temperature settling at 6.8 degrees Celsius, it said.

Fog prevailed in several areas across both states in the morning, significantly reducing visibility.

Chandigarh, the shared capital of the two states, recorded a minimum temperature of 8.8 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.

Meanwhile, among other places in Haryana, Bhiwani recorded a low of 6.5 degrees Celsius, Ambala 9.5 degrees, Rohtak 10.8 degrees, while Sirsa recorded a low of 10 degrees Celsius, it said.

In Punjab, Amritsar registered a low of 11.8 degrees Celsius, while Ludhiana and Bathinda both saw temperatures of 8.6 degrees, Patiala 9.3 degrees, and Faridkot recorded a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius.

In Uttar Pradesh, dense to very dense fog prevailed in some parts, reducing visibility to less than 50 metres, the IMD said, adding that 'cold day' to 'severe cold day' conditions were observed in some pockets of Uttar Pradesh and in isolated pockets of Uttarakhand. It also predicted dense to very dense fog conditions during night and morning hours in pockets of east Uttar Pradesh till December 23.

Meanwhile, mercury in Rajasthan saw a spike of a few notches, although most places still recorded night temperatures under 10 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.

After several days of intense cold, the state saw a rise in temperatures due to the impact of a western disturbance.

Fatehpur in Sikar recorded 8.9 degrees, up from 5.4 degrees the night before. Sikar's minimum temperature was 9 degrees Celsius, up from 5.8 degrees, while Churu recorded 9.2 degrees -- up from 7.6 -- according to the met office.

Chittorgarh recorded a night temperature of 7.8 degrees Celsius and Pilani (Jhunjhunu) 9 degrees Celsius.

Sirohi recorded night temperatures of 9.1 degrees, while Anta in Baran was at 9.8 degrees.

The state's capital, Jaipur, saw a low of 12.8 degrees Celsius, a temperature rise of two degrees from the previous night.

The met department predicted that the temperatures would dip by 2-3 degrees from December 24 due to northerly winds. Dense fog is also expected in the northern and western parts of the state on December 23 and 24.

In Jharkhand, the IMD issued alerts for cold conditions and dense fog in parts of Jharkhand, with minimum temperatures dropping below 10 degrees Celsius in several districts.

The orange alert (be prepared) for dense fog has been issued for five districts -- Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Chatra and Hazaribag -- until 8.30 am on Monday, whereas the yellow alert (be updated) for cold has been issued for Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra, Latehar, and Lohardaga.

An alert for dense fog was sounded for 11 districts -- Gumla, Lohardaga, Ranchi, Khunti, Koderma, Giridih, Deoghar, Ramgarh, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Jamtara.

According to the weather office, a total of 15 districts are likely to be affected due to the fog until 8.30 am on December 23.

Cold wave conditions were also reported in six districts where the minimum temperatures dipped below 10 degrees Celsius, the IMD said in a bulletin.

The districts were Gumla, Hazaribag, Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga and Ranchi.

"Light south-easterly to easterly winds are prevailing in the lower tropospheric levels over Jharkhand. Very dense to dense fog is likely to prevail in most parts of the northern and some central districts. This situation will continue until December 23," Abhishek Anand, Deputy Director of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, said.

"No large change is likely in the minimum temperature over the next 72 hours. Thereafter, over the next two days, the minimum temperature will steadily dip by up to 3 degrees Celsius," he said.

Additionally, cold wave to severe cold wave conditions were observed in isolated pockets of north interior Karnataka and cold wave conditions were seen in isolated pockets of Telangana, the IMD said. PTI TEAM PRK