Nilgiris: While North India continues to remain in the grip of cold wave, Ooty, the popular hill station in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, saw the mercury drop below 2.5°C, with relative humidity recorded at 65 per cent. Frost in surrounding areas of Ooty was also observed.

The hilly district of Nilgiri experiences frost every year from November to February. But this year, it started late in January due to stormy rains. Icy plains were observed in Ooty and surrounding areas like Kanthal, Pinker Post and Thalai Kunta.

Due to the severe cold caused by this frost, many people are not able to come out of their houses in the morning.

A white carpet was seen on the green lawns and an ice sheet was observed on vehicles. The cold in the village, situated in the upper reaches of Tamil Nadu, sent the locals, unaccustomed to such extremely low temperatures, scrambling for the warmer indoors while throwing life out of gear. Large patches of grasslands in the Nilgiris district appeared to be something akin to a wonderland, with fresh dew drops, often called white frost, carpeting the green grass.

The white frost was noticed across several areas of the popular hill station, including Ooty Nagar, Thalikunda, HPF and Kanthal. Up to an inch of ice was found on parked vehicles, with residents complaining of experiencing problems trying to fire up their cars. According to local MeT officials, there has been significant variation in the day and night temperatures in recent weeks, with the maximum temperature hovering over 25 degrees Celsius.

Delhi Records Minimum Temperature of 4.3 Degrees Celsius

Meanwhile, Delhi on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of 4.3 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The IMD has forecast a mainly clear sky during the day with maximum temperature likely to hover around 22 degrees Celsius. The humidity was 97 per cent at 8.30 am.