NEW DELHI: A cold wave swept across the national capital, taking the temperatures down to 5 degrees on Saturday morning. Visibility and air quality index (AQI) worsened under a shallow fog that wrapped the city in the early morning hours.
The AQI turned hazardous in most places across the city and its neighbourhood areas, crossing 500 in Delhi Institute of Tool and Engineering, and ITI Jahangirpuri.
Delhi recorded its lowest temperature of the season at 4.7 degree Celsius on Thursday. Met department had warned cold conditions will prevail till the end of this week.
The Met office predicted clear skies for Saturday, along with moderate fog in the morning, and haze and smoke thereafter. "Cold wave conditions are likely at isolated places. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover at 21 and 4 degree Celsius, respectively," the weather office said.
old wave conditions also continued in north Indian states. Kashmir's 40-day harshest winter period, known in the local parlance as 'Chillai-Kalan', began on Friday on a dry note. Cold wave continued in the Valley and Ladakh region as the minimum temperature settled several notches below the freezing point.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 4.4 degree Celsius on Friday, officials said. The minimum temperature was around three notches below the normal for this time of the season.
Cold wave also swept in most parts of Punjab and Haryana with Adampur shivering at 0.9 degree Celsius. Severe cold conditions prevailed in Faridkot and Bathinda too, which recorded minimum temperatures of 2 degree Celsius and 2.8 degree Celsius respectively, a Meteorological Department official.
Amritsar was at 3.3 degree Celsius, Ludhiana was at 3.5 degree Celsius, Patiala was at 6.1 degree Celsius and Pathankot was at degree Celsius.
In Haryana, Narnaul was the coldest place recording a low of 2.5 degree Celsius, while Hisar and Sirsa, too, were gripped by intense cold conditions recording their respective minimums at 2.7 degree Celsius and 2.6 degree Celsius.
Piercing cold wave also swept Rohtak (4 deg C), Karnal (3.6 deg C) and Bhiwani (6.3 deg C), while Ambala's low settled close to normal at 7 degree Celsius.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, reeled under biting cold recording a low of 5 degree Celsius.
Parts of Uttar Pradesh also shivered amid intense cold, with Muzaffarnagar recording a minimum temperature of 1.2 degrees Celsius -- the lowest in the state.
With agency inputs
