File Picture : ANI/X Representational Purpose Only
As fog floated across cityscapes and open grounds in northern states, the winter weighed much heavier, pushing mercury down to near-freezing temperatures in many areas which experienced the coldest night of the season.
Haryana’s Gurugram and Punjab’s Bathinda recorded a low of 0.6 degrees Celsius, while Fatehpur in Rajasthan’s Sikar district crossed the freezing point threshold to reach minus 0.4 degrees, the local meteorological departments said a PTI report.
Near sub-zero temperatures were reported from the NCR region, including in Faridabad and Rewari, leading to ground frost.
A layer of ice covered the windshields of some vehicles parked outside homes in Gurugram and turned dry grass brittle. The frost was particularly visible in rural areas on farm boundaries and vehicle windows.
According to official records, Gurugram recorded a low of 0 degrees Celsius on January 11, 1971. However, it cannot be said if Sunday night’s temperature is an all-time low for the city, as data for every year is not available.
The India meteorological department has warned that severe cold and dense fog conditions are likely to persist across North India in the coming days.
In the national capital, the minimum temperature settled at 3.2 degrees Celsius, plunging 4.2 notches below the seasonal average, marking the coldest January day in the city since 2023, as well as the second consecutive day of cold wave conditions.
