North India reels under cold wave, but no 'White Christmas' in Srinagar, Shimla

North India continued to endure severe cold wave conditions on Wednesday although tourists in popular destinations such as Srinagar and Shimla were left disappointed missing out on a White Christmas news agency PTI reportedWhile Srinagar recorded a low of minus 73 degrees Celsius Tabo in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh was the coldest place in the state with a night temperature of minus 106 degrees Celsius Cold weather conditions persisted in North India in Punjab Haryana Rajasthan and parts of Uttar Pradesh PTI reportedMeanwhile national capital Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 224 degrees Celsius on Christmas Day two degrees above the seasonrsquos average The minimum temperature in the national capital was recorded at 84 degrees Celsius which is 15 degrees below normalIn Kashmir the minimum temperatures dropped at most locations with the valley continuing to experience intense cold conditions leading to the freezing of several water bodies and supply lines in many areas PTI reported The weather bureau has predicted a further dip of two to three degrees in minimum temperatures in Kashmir over the next two daysExcept for Gulmarg the night temperatures dropped across all other weather stations in the Kashmir valley Currently under the grip of lsquoChillaiKalanrsquo the harshest 40day winter period that began on December 21 the valley is experiencing belownormal maximum and minimum temperatures officials saidWater supply lines freeze in KashmirThe drop in mercury has led to the freezing of water supply lines with a thin layer of ice covering the surface of several water bodies including Dal Lake The city was colder than Gulmarg a wellknown tourist resort in north Kashmir where the mercury settled at minus 66 degrees Celsius up from minus 74 degrees Celsius the previous nightHowever tourists expressed disappointment at not experiencing snowfall in Srinagar on Christmas The summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir has yet to see snowfall this season We felt good we enjoyed a lot There is no danger people live together in brotherhood and we celebrated Christmas said Poonam a tourist from Jammu It is colder Kashmir used to have a white Christmas and it was great but this year there has been no snowfall in Srinagar and people are facing difficulties We pray for a good snowfall she addedIn Himachal Pradesh snowfall led to the closure of 226 roads including three national highways People endured severe cold as minimum temperatures dropped further in Jot which received 10 cm of snow in the past 24 hours The statersquos emergency operation centre reported that 123 roads in Shimla district 36 in Lahaul and Spiti and 25 in Kullu were closed Additionally 173 transformers were disrupted affecting power supply across the stateLocals and tourists in Shimla were also disappointed as the city was greeted by bright sunshine on Christmas Day dashing hopes of a white Christmas The Met office has predicted rain and snow at isolated places in parts of the state particularly in Shimla from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon with precipitation expected to peak on SaturdayIn Rajasthan many areas were shrouded in dense fog as cold conditions persisted across the state Light rain occurred at one location in eastern Rajasthan over the last 24 hours while fog and dense fog prevailed at many places A cold day was recorded in some areas of western RajasthanCold weather conditions also continued in Punjab and Haryana with Faridkot recording the lowest minimum temperature at 42 degrees Celsius In Punjab Amritsar recorded a minimum of 54 degrees Celsius Gurdaspur 55 degrees Celsius and Patiala 57 degrees Celsius In Haryana Narnaul was the coldest place at 52 degrees Celsius while Hisar recorded 68 degrees Celsius Karnal and Sirsa 8 degrees Celsius and Gurugram 93 degrees Celsius Chandigarh the common capital of both states recorded a low of 74 degrees CelsiusWeather across Uttar Pradesh cleared up on Wednesday afternoon after two days of rain caused by western disturbances MeT officials said The light drizzle on Monday and Tuesday had resulted in fog and a noticeable drop in temperatures intensifying the cold conditions over the past 48 hours According to the India Meteorological Departmentrsquos forecast the weather is expected to remain clear on Thursday with rains likely to resume on December 27 On Wednesday morning Lucknow recorded 05 mm of rainfall causing a drop of 15degC in the days temperatureWith PTI inputs