A cold wave continues across North India on Wednesday morning, with the minimum temperature dipping to 3.6 degrees Celsius in New Delhi, the lowest this winter, NDTV reported. According to the meteorological department, this was four degrees below the season’s average.

Delhi has been experiencing a cold wave for the past few days. On December 23, the Capital had recorded a temperature of 3.7 degrees Celsius, its lowest in December in 12 years. The temperature is expected to dip to 3 degrees Celsius after December 28, agencies reported. The Capital has also been hit by severe air pollution once again, during the cold wave.

Earlier in the morning, the department warned of a cold wave in Punjab and Rajasthan and at isolated places in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat’s Saurashtra and Kutch regions.

The cold wave also intensified in Jammu and Kashmir, with Jammu city recording the season’s coldest night at 3.5 degrees Celsius, PTI reported. In Ladakh, the temperature dropped several degrees below the freezing point, with Leh recording minus 17.1 and Kargil minus 14.4. The mercury dropped to minus 6.7 degrees in Srinagar – the coldest night in 11 years – while temperatures of minus 7.9 and minus 9.4 degrees Celsius were recorded in Pahalgam and ski resort of Gulmarg.

In Keylong, the administrative centre of Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district, the minimum temperature fell to minus 11.1 degrees Celsius, said Shimla Met Centre Director Manmohan Singh. Manali, Solan, Chamba, Kalpa, Seobagh, Sundernagar and Bhuntar also experienced sub-zero temperatures, he added.