Respite from cold as mercury rises in northern India

New Delhi, Feb 17 (UNI) With the sun shining bright, the mercury has gone up all over the north, providing the much needed respite from cold.

It rose three degrees Celsius above normal and stood at 26.8 degrees in the Capital. The minimum too was two degrees up, stopping at 11.7 degrees. It was in stark contrast with the cold nights until Friday when the minimum had plummeted to 5.7 degrees, about four degrees below normal here.

The temperatures also showed rise in the north-west region of the country. The day temperatures in many parts shot up and recorded at above 20 degrees .

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded 21.6 degrees, Ludhiana 24.3 degrees, Patiala 24.6 degrees. The night temperatures also marginally increased in the state. In Haryana, Ambala recorded 23.6 degrees, Karnal 23.0 degrees and Chandigarh registered temperature at 25.6 degrees.

In Himachal Pradesh, Bhuntur recorded the day temperature at 23.0 degrees, Sundarnagar 23.9, while Shimla recorded 16.2 degrees. The people of the region also got some relief from chilly nights as the mercury showed upward movement.

They were also appreciably above normal in northwest Rajasthan, some parts of Kutch, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and north Kerala and were above normal in some parts of Uttarankhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa and Tamil Nadu. There were rain or thundershowers at isolated places in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Mainly dry weather prevailed in Gujarat, Konkan, Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Lakshadweep.

People in some parts of Bihar also woke up to a comparatively warm morning, with the mercury rising to 10.8 degrees Celsius, providing much needed respite from the severe chill.

UNI Team SK GC2012