Severe cold grips North India, Delhi and Amritsar record lowest minimums of the season

Severe cold has gripped entire North India as minimums have dropped drastically across the region. Delhi, till a few days back was witnessing close to normal temperatures but in the last 2-3 days the minimums have been dropping consistently. On Friday morning the minimum temperature at the Safdarjung Observatory in Delhi settled at 5.1°C, which is the lowest minimum of the season so far. A day earlier the morning minimum had settled at 6.6°C, which was 1 degree below the average.

Punjab has also been observing similar weather conditions for the last couple of days. Amritsar recorded bone chilling minimum of 3.2°C on Friday morning, which is the lowest for the city this season so far. In fact, Amritsar has been observing minimum temperatures close to 5°C for the last 3-4 days.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in Delhi has also dropped. The city recorded 22.8°C as the day temperature on Thursday, which is 1 degree below the Wednesday maximum of 23.8°C. And with forecast of rain in North India including Delhi during the weekend, the maximums are going to drop further. However, the minimums will observe a marginal rise.

Up in the hills the weather has been extremely cold with minimums touching sub-zero levels at many places. Kullu in Himachal Pradesh saw the minimum settle at -0.5°C on Thursday morning. Manali recorded 0.6°C as minimum on Friday, while Pahalgam and Gulmarg saw the minimum settle at -6°C and -5°C, respectively.

So, looking at these temperatures we can say that we have entered the thick of winter now.