Day after witnessing a cold Christmas, Delhiites are now bracing up for severe cold conditions in the days to come. According to the officials at the weather department, mercury in the national capital is expected to drop to 4 degrees Celsius on the weekend. According to Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department's regional forecasting centre, a "cold day" is when the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 notches below the normal. A 'severe cold day' is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 degrees Celsius below the normal, he said.

On Wednesday, Delhi's minimum temperature had settled at 6 degrees Celsius. The national capital also witnessed moderate to dense fog in the morning. The maximum temperature settled at 12.7 degrees Celsius, ninenotches below normal, officials said.

With a continuous dip in temperature, Delhi has registerednine cold days, since December 16.

Meanwhile, authorities in Haryana have ordered the closureof all schools in the state in view of intense coldwave. In Haryana, daytemperatures have been hovering between 11 and 15 degrees Celsius at mostplaces, six to nine notches below the normal. The minimum has been in the threedegrees Celsius and seven degrees Celsius range, which is three to four notchesbelow the normal. North India reels under intense cold conditions

Kashmir recorded severe cold conditions on Wednesday as thevalley recorded sub-zero temperatures with Srinagar experiencing the coldestnight of the season so far, the meteorological department said. The minimumtemperature across Kashmir and Ladakh remained several degrees below thefreezing point on Wednesday owing to a clear sky.

Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far asthe minimum temperature settled at minus 4.3 degrees Celsius last night – 0.3degrees down from minus 4.0 degrees Celsius the previous night, leading tofreezing of water supply lines at several places.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low ofminus 9.0 degrees Celsius last night – up from the previous night's minus 10.2degrees Celsius

The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also servesas one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir,settled at a low of minus 11.4 degrees Celsius as against minus 10.4 degreesCelsius yesterday.

Pahalgam, in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, was thecoldest recorded place in the valley.

An official of the weather department said Qazigund – thegateway town to the valley - in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 9.4degrees Celsius – a decrease of nearly two degrees from minus 7.8 degrees Celsiusfrom the previous night.

Kokernag town, also in the south, recorded a low of minus6.7 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in the north, registered the minimum ofminus 5.6 degrees Celsius, the official said.

He said Leh town in the Union Territory of Ladakh recorded alow of minus 17.8 degrees Celsius – one degree down from minus 16.7 degreesCelsius on the previous night.

The MeT department has forecast mainly dry weather for theweek ahead.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' - the40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequentand maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

'Chillai-Kalan' began on December 21 and ends on January 31,but the cold wave continues even after that. The 40-day period is followed by a20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha'(baby cold).