The meteorological centre officials said that acute cold wave condition might grip Bharadisain near Gairsain in Chamoli district which houses the new Assembly building where the week-long Winter Session of the Vidhan Sabha is starting from December 7. According to them, the mercury level might plummet to as low as zero degree Celsius any day between December 10 and 13 as it might snow heavily in the high-altitude areas of the state for three days starting from December 10. The meteorological centre Dehradun director Bikram Singh said on Tuesday that it might drizzle in Dhanaulti and Mussoorie areas in the next 24 hours, sparking a further dip in the temperature. However, he ruled out the possibility of Dhanaulti and Mussoorie experiencing snowfall right now.
Meanwhile, Dehradun experienced cold since the morning on Tuesday with rain- bearing clouds hovering over the sky. “It felt cold because the gap between the maximum and the minimum temperatures narrowed down with a fall in the former and a rise in the latter,” Singh said. He added that the minimum temperature is expected to dip by a few degrees Celsius after December 8.
Cold wind blowing from the mountains and sweeping over Dehradun, the people, particularly, the elderly, chose to remain indoors during the morning hours and after evening descended. Traffic thinned on the roads in the evening and the shop owners downed shutters much earlier than usual.
The maximum temperature settled at 21.2 degree Celsius (two degree Celsius below the normal) while the minimum was at 11.5 degree Celsius (four degree above the normal) in Dehradun on Tuesday as per the Met officials. It was 14.2 degree Celsius (two degree below the normal) and 7.3 degree Celsius (three degree above the normal) in Mukteshwar and 22.2 degree Celsius (three degree below the normal) and 12.6 degree Celsius (six degree above the normal) in Pantnagar. In Tehri district, the maximum temperature was reported as 16.5 degree Celsius while the minimum was 7.8 degree Celsius at New Tehri on Tuesday.
Bikram Singh said that the western disturbances might spawn the spells of rain/snowfall in the higher reaches from December 10 for three days. Snowfall is likely to occur at places with height of 3500 m and above on Wednesday and Thursday, he said, adding that there might be thunder cloud over Dehradun on Wednesday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 22 degree Celsius and 10 degree Celsius respectively in Dehradun on Wednesday, he said, adding that the minimum would come down after December 8.
He said that the highest maximum temperature of the state 23.6°C was recorded at Jolly Grant while the lowest minimum temperature 6.6°C at Pithoragarh.
Over the past 24 hours by 8.30 am on Tuesday, trace rain was reported in Mukteshwar, 0.2 mm in Dehradun and 1.2 mm in New Tehri, Singh informed.