A cold wave swept through Delhi on Wednesday morning as the minimum temperature dropped to 3.6 degrees Celsius, the lowest this winter, the Met office said.

“The minimum temperature was recorded at 3.6 degree Celsius, four notches below the season’s average. It is the lowest temperature recorded so far this year,” it said.

Delhi has been reeling under a cold wave for the past a few days. On December 23, the minimum temperature was recorded at 3.7 degrees Celsius. It is expected to dip to 3.0 degrees Celsius after December 28. The weatherman has predicted clear skies throughout the day on Wednesday and the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius.

According to the Met department, humidity level recorded at 8.30 am was 97%.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature had settled at 5.0 degrees Celsius.

Water supplies freeze

The cold wave has resulted in freezing of some water bodies, including the fringes of the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar, and residential water supply pipes in Srinagar and other towns of the Valley.

Leh town in Ladakh region recorded the lowest temperature this winter as mercury plummeted to minus 17.1C last night, a Met department official said.

The nearby Kargil recorded a low of minus 14.4C, he said.

Srinagar — the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir — which recorded the coldest night in 11 years on Monday at minus 6.8C, experienced a similar minimum temperature last night at minus 6.7C, the official said.

He said Qazigund — the gateway town to the Valley — in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.9C, while the nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 5.4C last night.

Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.4C. The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, settled at minus 7.9C, the official said.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the coldest place in the Valley at minus 9.4C.

Himachal hits minus 11.1

The minimum temperature also dropped by a few notches in most parts of Himachal Pradesh. The lowest temperature in the State was recorded in tribal district Lahaul and Spiti’s administrative centre Keylong at minus 11.1 degrees Celsius, Director of the MeT Centre, Shimla, Manmohan Singh said.

Besides Manali, Solan, Chamba, Kalpa, Seobagh, Sundernagar and Bhuntar were shivering at sub zero level during the period, he added

The minimum temperature in Kalpa was recorded at minus 4 degrees Celsius, Manali at minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, Seobagh at minus 2.7, Sundernagar at minus 1.3, Bhuntar at minus 1, Solan at minus 0.7 and Chamba at minus 0.4 degree Celsius, he added.

However, the minimum temperature in Shimla was 2.7 degrees Celsius and in Dalhousie it was 1.6 degrees Celsius during the period, he added