Uttarakhand under cold wave, thick snow blanket covers Badrinath Temple: Picture inside

Following heavy snowfall in the Uttarakhand region, the Badrinath Temple on Friday, December 27, has been covered under a blanket of snow. As per the Meteorological Department, the temperature in Uttarakhand has been below normal degrees Celsius since the past few days. Earlier last month, pictures of the holy shrine covered in the snow had gone viral. 

Further, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rainfall on New Year's Eve in Dehradun. As per the weather agency, the temperature is expected to remain between eight degrees Celsius to 16 degrees Celsius on December 31. Further, the cold wave is predicted to continue till the first few days of January. 

Apart from Dehradun, the IMD has predicted a cold wave in Delhi and its adjoining areas in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Noida till December 30. However, on December 31, the national capital is also likely to witness light rainfall. 

Major part of Dal Lake freezes

In another weather development, as the temperature dip in the Kashmir Valley, a major chunk of the world-famous Dal Lake was frozen on Friday, December 27. According to the Meteorological Department, last night, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season with the city freezing at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.

Read: Delhi: Weather department predicts Friday as the coldest day of the season

Read: Intense cold in northern states on Christmas, water supply lines freeze in Srinagar

In a similar situation, several tourists visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine earlier this month were redirected to Panchari, a hill station in Udhampur district as heavy snowfall had hit the region, covering the shrine under a sheet of thick snow. As per reports, helicopter and ropeway services were stalled in the area for the tourists. 

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(With agency inputs)