Icy cold winds freeze life in Rajasthan towns and cities

Jaipur, Jan 13 (IANS) Icy cold winds continued to sweep across Rajasthan and affect the normal life of the people, with mercury dropping to below freezing point at a couple of places in the desert state.

According to the weather office, temperatures are expected to drop to 4 degrees Celsius or less and ground frost likely to occur at a few places in the state ove the next 24 hours.

The worst hit places in the state on Thursday-Friday night were Churu and Sikar. At both towns, the minimum temperature slipped to sub-zero level at -1.0 degree celsius. Mount Abu, the 1,220 metres high only hill station in the state, recorded bone chilling -0.5 degree celsius.

Places like Pilani and Jaipur remained extremely cold with temperatures at 1.9 and 4.0 degrees Celsius. Ganganagar saw near- freezing point cold of 0.2 degree Celsius. The temperatures were 4-5 degrees celsius lower than what is normal at this time of the year.

People preferred to remain indoors in the state capital Jaipur, where temperature has been hovering around 4 degrees celsius for the past few days.

Places like Jodhpur, Ajmer and Dabok too remained chilly.

If the weather office is to be believed, the cold wave is likely to continue in the state at least for the next 24 hours.

The weather forecast said, "Night temperatures at 4 degrees Celsius or less accompanied with ground frost likely to occur at a few places in the state. Cold wave conditions likely to prevail at a few places in the state and severe cold wave at isolated places in the state in the next 24 hours."