Cold wave conditions continued unabated in the lower hills and plain areas of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, with the local meteorological office warning of severe cold wave in four out of 12 districts of the state till Saturday.
The Met office has issued an orange warning for cold to severe cold wave at a few places in the lower hills of Una, Bilapsur, Hamirpur and Mandi districts, and yellow warning for cold wave in Chamba and Kangra districts till Saturday.
Dense and shallow fog was witnessed at isolated places in Bilaspur and Mandi, while ground frost was observed in Palampur and Kangra, the MeT office said.
Tabo in Lahaul and Spiti district recorded the coldest night temperature at minus 7.4 degrees Celsius, while several places in the lower hills shivered as minimum temperatures stayed close to the freezing point.
While Sundernagar recorded a low of 0.1 degree Celsius, Mandi shivered at 0.6 degree Celsius, Una at 1.4 degrees Celsius, and Hamirpur at 1.7 degrees Celsius.
Una was the hottest during the day with a high of 26 degrees Celsius, while the key tourist destinations of Dharamshala, Shimla and Manali recorded day temperatures at 24.2 degrees, 18.6 degrees, and 15.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The MeT officer has advised people in the plain areas to keep warm, protect livestock, and make necessary arrangements to safeguard crops from cold and frost.
Meanwhile, the post-monsoon rain deficit from October 1 to December 18 stood at 96 per cent, as the state received 2.3 mm of rain against a normal rainfall of 62.5 mm.
Cold wave to Grip Parts of Karnataka for the Next 3 Days
Cold wave conditions are likely to persist over Bidar, Vijayapura, and Kalaburagi districts of Karnataka, with temperatures expected to be 2-4 degrees celsius "below normal" in the remaining districts of North Interior Karnataka for the next three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.
Dry weather is forecast to continue across the state between December 18 and December 22.
According to the IMD, cold wave conditions are expected over Bidar, Vijayapura, and Kalaburagi districts. In the remaining districts of North Interior Karnataka, temperatures will be 2-4 degrees Celsius below normal.
Isolated places in interior Karnataka may experience shallow fog/mist until December 20.
For December 23-24, the IMD has predicted "light rain" at isolated places over Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Ramanagara, Chamarajanagara, and Mysuru districts.
During this period, dry weather is expected to persist over Coastal Karnataka, North Interior Karnataka, and the remaining districts of South Interior Karnataka.
In a statement, the IMD said, "Cold wave conditions are likely to prevail over Bidar, Vijayapura, and Kalaburagi districts, with temperatures 2-4 degrees Celsius below normal in the remaining districts of North Interior Karnataka for the next three days. After that, a further fall in minimum temperatures is expected in North Interior Karnataka."
The IMD also added, "Minimum temperatures will fall by 2-4 degrees Celsius from normal over the next three days, followed by a gradual decrease in minimum temperatures in South Interior Karnataka. No significant change in minimum temperatures is expected over Coastal Karnataka."
Intense Cold Conditions in Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana
There was a slight improvement in the intense cold conditions in Kashmir as the minimum temperature rose across the valley, but continued to settle below the freezing point, officials said here on Wednesday.
Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius '? slightly up from minus 5.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.
They said the intense cold conditions over the past few days led to the freezing of the fringes of several water bodies, including the Dal Lake here, while water supply lines in many areas of the city here and elsewhere in the valley were also frozen due to the cold.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius '? a degree down from the night before.
Tourist resort Pahalgam, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 5.8 degrees Celsius which was slightly up from the previous night's minus 5 degrees Celsius.
Konibal, a sleepy hamlet on the outskirts of Pampore town, was the coldest place in the valley as mercury settled at the low of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Qazigund -- the gateway to Kashmir -- was minus 5 degrees Celsius, Kupwara in north Kashmir minus 4.4 degrees, and Kokernag in south Kashmir minus 2.8 degrees.
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 few days, it said.
Intense cold weather conditions continued to grip several areas in Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday, with Faridkot being the coldest place in the region, recording a minimum temperature of 0.9 degrees Celsius, officials said.
Faridkot has been experiencing severe cold for the past few days, making it the coldest place in Punjab.
According to the Meteorological Department's daily weather report, Pathankot was also under the grip of severe cold, recording a low of 2.6 degrees Celsius, while Bathinda and Gurdaspur registered respective minimum temperatures of 3.4 and 4 degrees Celsius.
Amritsar recorded a minimum temperature of 4.3 degrees, while Ludhiana and Patiala registered minimums of 5.6 and 5.9 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Piercing cold swept Bathinda which registered a temperature of 3 degrees Celsius, while Gurdaspur shivered at 3.5 degrees.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 6.6 degrees Celsius.
In Haryana, Hisar recorded a low of 2.7 degrees Celsius, while Sirsa and Karnal were also swept by severe cold, with both places recording lows of 3.8 degrees Celsius.
Rohtak registered a low of 6.2 degrees, while Gurugram registered a minimum of 6.7 degrees Celsius. Ambala shivered at 8 degrees Celsius.
