Tourists relish fresh snowfall in J-K; schools' winter break extended in Punjab, Rajasthan

New Delhi: The IMD on Wednesday predicted cold wave conditions for several parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan over the next few days, while the high-altitude areas around Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir witnessed fresh snowfall.

The Punjab government extended the winter holidays in all schools till January 13 in view of the cold weather conditions in the state. A day earlier, several districts in Rajasthan had announced to similarly prolong the winter breaks, and authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district ordered the closure of all schools up to class 8 till January 10. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a severe cold day prevailed in isolated places over Rajasthan, and a cold day prevailed over Uttar Pradesh -- both states seeing incidences of dense fog.

In Kashmir's Doda district, tourists converged in large numbers at Guldanda (9,555 feet), Panj Nallah (10,200 feet) and Chattargalla (10,500 feet) along the Bhaderwah–Pathankot highway to enjoy the snow-clad alpine landscape.

Many tourists described the snowfall as magical and breathtaking, with the experience creating lasting memories, particularly for first-time visitors from different parts of the country. The national capital recorded cold day conditions for the second time in a row, as the day temperature here was recorded at 16.7 degrees Celsius, 2.3 notches below the seasonal average.

Cold day conditions were observed at Palam and Lodhi Road as maximum temperatures plummeted, the weather office said.  According to the IMD, cold day conditions are declared when the maximum temperature falls 4.5 degrees Celsius to 6.4 degrees Celsius below normal.

The weather office has forecast dense fog during the morning hours on Thursday and issued a yellow alert.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 16 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively, with the IMD saying there is a low possibility of cold day conditions continuing the next day.

Meanwhile, temperatures dropped to under 5 degrees Celsius in parts of Haryana and Punjab.

The minimum temperature of Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, was recorded at 7.6 degrees Celsius.

Narnaul, with a low of 4 degrees Celsius, was the coldest place in Haryana. Bhiwani also reeled under intense cold, recording a low of 5 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab, Bathinda was the coldest place in the state, recording a low of 4.6 degrees Celsius. The state’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the decision to extend schools' winter vacation was taken keeping in mind the health and safety of the children and staff.

Intense chill disrupted normal life in Rajasthan as well, with cold day conditions recorded in many places of the state.

Minimum temperatures ranged between 4.5 and 10 degrees Celsius across much of the state, the meteorological department said.

Dense fog was reported at some places in Jaipur, Kota, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Ajmer, and Udaipur divisions during the morning hours, reducing visibility to near zero in several places and affecting traffic on highways.

Sikar was the coldest place in the state, registering a minimum temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius.

Jaipur, the state capital, shivered at 6.2 degrees Celsius.

The weather department said maximum temperatures across the state hovered between 12 and 25 degrees Celsius. Night temperatures would fall by 1-2 degrees further over the coming 1-2 days, it said.

Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail in the morning hours in some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan between January 8 and 10, and in parts of Uttar Pradesh on January 8, the IMD said.