Post Christmas, north India had a short stint of rain and snow, taking mercury to double digit in the plains and abating cold wave in the mountains. Western disturbance and its induced cyclonic circulation has moved away and the rain belt shifted over central and eastern parts of the country. In the wake of the system, sky has cleared up and dragged cold air down the mountain slopes again.
Minimum temperatures have dropped again, reaching single digit across the region and plummeting to 5°C or less at few places. Amritsar, Bathinda, Hisar, Churu and Hanumangarh plunged to under 5°C, with Amritsar scoring over others with the lowest of 2.4°C. Churu took a deep dive from yesterday’s 10.6°C to 4.3°C today morning. Bathinda equaled Amritsar freeze to rank lowest in the region. Hills also had sharp slide to witness icy winds and freezing temperatures, recording lowest of the season at few places. Gulmarg registered -10.4°C, overtaking earlier low of -10°C on 16thDec. Even Leh touched a new low of -15°C. Gulmarg managed day’s maximum temperature to just 6°C and 5°C below the normal.
Plains of north India covering Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will remain dry for the next 5-6days. Thin clouds will play hide and seek during this period. Fresh spell of rain and thundershower is anticipated only after 04thJan 2022. All the tourist resorts like Srinagar, Manali, Shimla, Mussorie and Nainital will witness a cold new year eve without any interruption in terms of rain and snow. However, a prolonged spell of rain and snow wait in the wings for Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand. Light weather activity for the mid and higher reaches will start on 01stJan 2022 itself and continue till 03rdJan. Spread and intensity of rain and snow will extend to the lower reaches between 04thand 06thJan, with a peak on 05thJan covering most of the mountains across the four hilly states.
Year 2022 will commence on a cold and wet note, right from the 1st week. While the northeast monsoon will officially end on 31stDec 2021, winter season 2022 starts on a promising note. Month of November and December fell short of normal, both in the plains and hills of North India. Jan and Feb remain crucial to keep the scare of deficit under check.