Weather Updates: The havoc of cold wave has started to appear. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the mercury dropped to 4 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal, at the Ridge weather station, making it the coldest place in the capital.

IMD said cold wave conditions were observed in isolated pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and northwest Rajasthan.

In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius.

Delhi and parts of NCR have been witnessing fog for the past few days. On Sunday, too, a layer of fog over the national capital kept the visibility low.

Mumbai reportedly recorded the minimum temperature at 17.4 degrees Celsius. According to the weather department, the mercury is expected to dip further over the weekend.

As per IMD, Amristar is to witness a minimum temperature of 4°C and a maximum temperature of 17°C with generally cloudy sky, today.

Not a White Christmas

The state weather centre at Shimla has forecasted snowfall in higher reaches of the Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts of the state after a fresh western disturbance is expected. IMD has predicted that there will be no snowfall during Christmas in the tourist destinations of Himachal Pradesh.

“During the past 24 hours, there were cold wave conditions in the districts of Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur. There is a fresh Western disturbance on 25 December. On 26 Demember, there will be rain and snowfall in higher reaches of the state. On 28th and 29th, another western disturbance is approaching and it will impact the districts of Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts of the state. There is no scope for snowfall during Christmas in tourist destinations of the state. The night temperatures have dropped and in days to come it may increase,” Bui Lal, Sr Scientist IMD HP said.

A frigid winter storm killed at least 18 people as it swept across the country, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses and leaving millions of people on edge about the possibility of Christmas Eve blackouts.

Across the US, officials have attributed deaths to exposure, car crashes, a falling tree limb and other effects of the storm. At least three people died in the Buffalo area, including two who suffered medical emergencies in their homes and couldn’t be saved because emergency crews were unable to reach them amid historic blizzard conditions.

Deep snow, single-digit temperatures and day-old power outages sent Buffalo residents scrambling Saturday to get out of their houses to anywhere that had heat. New York Government Kathy Hochul said the Buffalo Niagara International Airport would be closed through Monday morning and almost every fire truck in the city was stranded in the snow.

Also read: Weather Today: Heavy Fog In Delhi, Know How The Weather Will Be In The Next 48 Hours