After the passage of the previous Western Disturbance, icy cold winds coming from the northwest direction led to drop in both day and night temperatures over many parts of Northwest India.
Several places in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, West Uttar Pradesh and North Rajasthan are witnessing cold wave conditions at present.
Few parts of North Madhya Pradesh have been recording temperatures below 5°C.
Most parts of Punjab and few places over rest of the northwest plains have recorded below 5°C minimums on Friday morning. Amritsar in Punjab is the coldest place in India on Friday with the minimum temperature recorded at -0.3°C. The other coldest places in the country were Narnaul in Haryana (1°C) and Churu in Rajasthan (0.4°C).
As the icy cold winds will continue to blow over the area at least for next 24 hours, we expect that temperatures will remain much below the normal average.
Alert: #ColdWave conditions at a few places are likely over #Punjab, #Rajasthan, #Haryana & #MadhyaPradesh during the next 24 hours #Winter
— SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) December 25, 2015
Maximums will also be below 20°C at many places. Despite ample sunshine, cold winds will make the weather extremely cold. This comes as a blessing in disguise as visibility will remain good. Only shallow fog could be witnessed at few places, which will not hamper the smooth operations of air, rail and road traffic.
As temperatures will remain on the lower side, many places may experience frost in the early morning hours. This will be harmful to wheat crops, which will be saved if the farms are well irrigated.
Image credit - The Hindu