North India continued to reel under sharp winter conditions on Friday, with large parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana recording minimum temperatures well below normal, even as Kashmir saw a brief improvement in the cold due to overcast skies. Delhi, meanwhile, remained choked under ‘very poor’ air quality as a cold wave was forecast for the day.

Rajasthan recorded the lowest temperature in the region, with Fatehpur in Sikar district plunging to 1.9°C on Friday morning. The Jaipur Meteorological Centre said minimum temperatures stayed below 10 degrees Celsius across several districts, including Sikar at 3°C, Nagaur at 3.1°C, Lunkaransar at 3.2°C, Churu at 4.5°C and Pilani at 4.8°C. Dry conditions are likely to persist over most parts of the state for the next week, it added.

Bone-chilling cold also gripped Punjab and Haryana. Faridkot, at 3°C, was the coldest among the two states. In Punjab, Bathinda recorded 3.2°C, while Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur reported lows between 5.5°C and 6.2°C. In neighbouring Haryana, Narnaul was the coldest at 3.5°C, while Hisar recorded 3.7°C. Karnal, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Sirsa registered temperatures ranging between 5.4°C and 7.7°C. Chandigarh, the shared capital, reported a minimum of 6.1°C.

Kashmir, however, witnessed an improvement in night temperatures as cloud cover pushed the mercury above those recorded in recent days. Srinagar, which had plunged to –4°C the previous night, recorded a low of 0.4°C—over four degrees higher. Qazigund reported –0.2°C, Kupwara 0.2°C, Kokernag 0.8°C, Pahalgam –1.8°C and Gulmarg 0°C. Konibal in Pulwama district remained the coldest in the Union Territory at –3°C. The weather office said light snowfall is possible in the higher reaches later on Friday, while another brief spell is likely on December 8.