Winter season has arrived in many parts of northwest India, both in the hills and the northern plains, with the minimum temperature faling below 5 degrees Celsius below normal in many cities, according to scientists.

On Friday, Gulmarg (J&K) recorded a minimum temperature of -7° C, 5.5 degrees below normal. In Palampur (Himachal Pradesh), the minimum temperature was 3° C, 6.4 degrees below normal. In the plains, town such as Hisar (Haryana), Churu (Rajasthan) and Adampur (Punjab) also recorded minimum temperatures that were 4-5 degrees below normal. The Regional Meteorological Centre has warned that Delhi, Haryana and north Rajasthan could experience cold wave conditions for the next two days.

A cold wave is announced when minimum temperature is under 10°C and the departure from normal is 4.5° C for more than a day. The start of winter, which usually takes place around mid-December, seems to be happening earlier due to the influence of back-to-back western disturbances, as per scientists. They also said that La Nina, a global weather pattern which is going on this year, is also linked to substantially below normal temperatures in northwest India in winters. According to them, a colder than normal winter is expected this year.

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