The IMD has forecast heavy rain in 14 districts due to a well-marked low-pressure area over the Southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka coast, which lay over the Gulf of Mannar and neighbourhood.
Cold wave conditions and rain has battered several states of India. Adding to the colder temperatures, Tamil Nadu is also facing severe floods due to heavy rain in several districts including Chennai and . The IMD has forecast heavy rain in 14 districts due to a well-marked low-pressure area over the Southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka coast, which lay over the Gulf of Mannar and neighbourhood.
After temperature recording as low as 3.2 degrees Celsius in few areas of Delhi, the national capital woke up to a warmer Friday with temperature at 9 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile cold wave conditions persisted in several districts of Rajasthan including Churu, Fatehpur and Jaipur and the met office has said that this weather will continue for the next 24 hours.
Delhi's minimum temperature settled 4.5 notches above normal at 9 degrees Celsius on Friday, the Met office said.
On Thursday, the city recorded the lowest temperature of this winter season as the minimum temperature dipped to 4.5 degrees Celsius.
The rise in minimum temperature has been by more than 2 degrees Celsius only at isolated places in northwest India, including the Patiala, Karnal, Rohtak, Delhi, Sikar, Alwar and the Phalodi stations.
A rise of more than 3 degrees Celsius has been recorded only in the Sikar, Rohtak, Phalodi and the Safdarjung stations across the northwest Indian plains, the weather office said.
Even after lower temperatures in the last few days, India Meteorological Department said no coldwave conditions were recorded in the national capital.
The Met office has forecast mainly clear skies during the day, with the maximum temperature expected to settle at 23 degrees Celsius.
The national capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the 'poor' category with a reading of 273 at 9 am.
Intense cold conditions persisted across Rajasthan, with Fatehpur recording the season's lowest minimum temperature at minus 0.1 degrees Celsius, the weather office said on Friday.
According to the Meteorological Center Jaipur, in the last 24 hours, extreme cold wave were observed at one or two places in the state, while cold wave conditions prevailed in some areas.
Churu recorded a minimum temperature of 3.1 degrees Celsius followed by 3.6 degrees Celsius in Karauli, Pilani at 4 degrees Celsius, 4.3 degrees Celsius in Sangaria (Hanumangarh), and Sikar at 5 degrees Celsius, the center said.
Alwar logged a temperature of 5.8 degrees Celsius, Ganganagar at 6.4 degrees Celsius, and 6.6 degrees Celsius in Bikaner, it said.
Cold wave is expected to prevail at some places in north Rajasthan and Shekhawati region, with the minimum temperature likely to hover between two to six degree Celsius during the next 24 hours, it added.
Jammu and Kashmir:
A day after Kashmir's plain areas received the season's first snowfall, minimum temperatures dropped across the valley on Friday, with the meteorological department predicting a cold wave over the next four days.
Officials said the night temperatures decreased throughout the valley following the snowfall in the higher reaches and some plains of Kashmir.
The Met department has forecast mainly dry weather till December 21.
However, the minimum temperature is expected to fall further in the valley and there would be a cold wave over many stations during the next four day.
Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2 degrees Celsius, down from minus 0.5 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.
They said that Gulmarg, a tourist destination in north Kashmir popular for skiing, was the coldest recorded place in the valley, with the mercury plunging to minus 9.6 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 5.2 degrees Celsius the night before.
Pahalgam, the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, experienced its coldest night of the season at minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, a significant drop from minus 4.6 degrees Celsius recorded the previous night, the weather department said.
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, registered a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, and Kokernag in south Kashmir logged minus 1.8 degrees Celsius, it added.
The higher reaches, including popular tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Sonamarg, Tangmarg, Gurez, and Zojila axis received light to moderate snowfall on Thursday, the officials said.
Some areas in the plains in Shopian, Pulwama, and Baramulla, as well as the upper areas of Anantnag, Budgam, and Bandipora also received light snowfall, they added.
Rain continued to batter several districts across Tamil Nadu on Friday and the Thamirabarani river was in spate due to continuous downpours in the southern districts.
The Thoothukudi district administration has issued a flood warning in the Srivaikuntam and Eral areas owing to the heavy inflows into the Thamirabarani river. People in low lying areas have been advised to shift to safe places.
In Chennai, the Public Works Department (PWD) has issued the first flood warning for the areas near the Redhills and Chembarambakkam reservoirs, among the chief sources of drinking water for the city, following the dangerous increase in water levels due to incessant rain in the catchment areas.
The IMD has forecast heavy rain in 14 districts due to a well-marked low pressure area over the Southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka coast, which lay over the Gulf of Mannar and neighbourhood.
The system is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards towards South Tamil Nadu and weaken gradually into a low pressure area during the next 12 hours, the IMD said.
The quantum of surplus water being discharged from the Poondi dam in the city suburb has been increased to 12,000 cusecs this morning from 5,000 cusecs on Thursday evening.
Due to a heavy downpour upstream of Thamirabarani, a flood warning was issued to all villages and towns situated on the banks of the river, the administration said.