New Delhi Mar 18 PTI The national capital witnessed a warm sunny morning on Friday on the occasion of Holi as the city recorded this months highest minimum temperature of 217 degrees Celsius according to the India Meteorological Department IMDThe weather office has predicted clear skies during the dayThe maximum temperature of the day will settle around 36 degrees Celsius the Met department saidRelative humidity was recorded at 78 per cent at 830 amThe Air Quality Index AQI in Delhi was in the poor category 298 at 9 am data from the Central Pollution Control Board showedAn AQI between zero and 50 is categorised as good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeDelhi recorded its warmest day of the season on Thursday as the maximum temperature settled five notches above normal at 361 degrees Celsius PTI NIT NB IJT

Srinagar Dec 31 PTI The minimum temperature improved across Kashmir on Friday providing slight relief from the intense cold conditions even as the meteorological department forecast colder days and warmer nights ahead owing to a cloud cover officials said Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday a degree up from the previous night the officials said Gulmarg the famous skiing resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 90 degrees Celsius -- up from minus 96 degrees the previous night The officials said Pahalgam which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra recorded a low of minus 66 degrees Celsius up from minus 89 degrees Celsius the previous night They said Qazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded the minimum of minus 30 degrees Celsius while the nearby south Kashmir town of Kokernag recorded a low of minus 33 degrees Celsius The mercury at Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 26 degrees Celsius The MeT office has forecast colder days and warmer nights ahead owing to a cloud cover It said there could be light snow over the higher reaches of Kashmir on January 2 and 3 Also widespread snowrain spell of moderate intensity is most likely from January 4 to 6 with the main activity on January 5 and 6 Heavy snow is expected at some places during the period as well it said The weather may affect surface and air transport the MeT office said Kashmir is currently under the grip of the 40-day harshest winter period known as Chilla-i-Kalan which began on December 21 It is a period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas especially in the higher reaches receive heavy to very heavy snowfall The Chilla-i-Kalan will end by the end of January but the cold wave will continue with a 20-day-long Chillai-Khurd small cold and a 10-day-long Chillai-Bachha baby cold PTI SSB CJ CJ

Jaipur Dec 18 PTI Cold winds from the countrys northern parts swept Rajasthan as minimum temperatures in Fatehpur and Churu dropped below the freezing point a meteorological department official said on SaturdayTemperatures on Friday night dropped by one degree Celsius across the state the official said and added that the department has issued a cold wave warning for many parts of RajasthanThe minimum temperature was recorded at minus 33 degrees Celsius in Fatehpur in Sikar and in neighbouring Churu it was minus 11 degrees Celsius according to the meteorological MeT departmentNagaur recorded a minimum night temperature of 03 degrees Celsius Sangaria and Sikar each recorded 07 degrees Celsius Bhilwara 1 degree Celsius Ganganagar 11 degrees Celsius Pilani 19 degrees Celsius and Chittorgarh 27 degrees CelsiusThe MeT department said the minimum in most of the districts of the state has dipped below five degrees CelsiusThe maximum temperature was recorded between 135 degrees Celsius to 242 degrees Celsius on FridayState capital Jaipur recorded a minimum temperature of 49 degrees Celsius on Friday nightThe department has issued an Orange alert for severe cold wave conditions in many areas of the state in the coming days PTI AG ANB ANB

New Delhi Rains lashed some parts of the city on Sunday morning and the minimum temperature settled at 245 degrees Celsius two notches below the seasons normal said a meteorological department officialThe relative humidity recorded at 830 am was 92 per centIn the last 24 hours the city received 92 mm rainfall they saidAccording to the weather office the maximum temperature is expected to settle at 33 degrees CelsiusAccording to IMD officials Saturdays rainfall of 1388 mm is the ninth highest in the last 62 years for AugustOn Saturday the maximum temperature settled at 326 degrees Celsius a notch below the seasons normal while the minimum temperature settled at around 238 degrees Celsius three notches below the seasons normal it said