Cold wave tightens grip across north India

Near-zero temperatures freeze Rajasthan, Haryana; Gurugram sees frost with low of 0.6 deg C

- AIMAN FATIMA

As dense fog blanketed large swathes of north India and icy winds swept across open fields and urban sprawls, the region reeled under its coldest conditions of the season, with several locations recording near-freezing or subzero minimum temperatures and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warning that extreme cold and fog are likely to persist for the next few days.

In Haryana’s Gurugram and Punjab’s Bathinda, temperatures dropped to 0.6 degrees Celsius, while Fatehpur in Rajasthan’s Sikar district slipped below the freezing point, recording minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, local meteorological officials said on Monday. In parts of Rajasthan, the chill was even sharper, with Pratapgarh reporting a low of minus 2 degrees Celsius and Barmer minus 1 degree Celsius, according to the state weather office.

The cold was accompanied by frost across parts of the National Capital Region (NCR). Faridabad and Rewari reported near subzero conditions, and residents in Gurugram woke up to ground frost, brittle grass and a visible layer of ice on vehicle windshields. Officials noted that Gurugram had recorded a low of 0 degrees Celsius on January 11, 1971, though they said it could not be

Confirmed whether the latest minimum was the city's all-time low due to gaps C was the city' all-ti In Delhi, the cold wave tightened further, with the city registering its coldest January day since 2023 and recording a second consecutive day of cold wave conditions.

The minimum temperature in the national capital settled at 3.2 degrees Celsius, plunging 4.2 notches below the seasonal average.

The maximum temperature on Monday was 20.6 degrees Celsius, marginally above normal by 0.7 notch.