There was no let up in cold conditions in the country's northern region, with high-altitude areas in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir receiving fresh snowfall and rains lashing Punjab and Haryana as well as the national capital Delhi.

The India Meteorological Department, IMD, has forecast fairly widespread rain or snow in hilly areas of north-west of the country today and tomorrow. It also said that there is possibility of heavy snow or rain and thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning and hail.

In Delhi, the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 5.7 mm rainfall and Palam Observatory 4.4 mm rainfall yesterday. The minimum temperature today will be around 11 degree Celsius while maximum will be 22 degree Celsius. Meteorological Department has forecast generally cloudy sky with light rains for today.

High-altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir are likely toreceive fresh snowfall and rain today as well. The minimum temperature inSrinagar settled at minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.

Uttarakhand's higher reaches received fresh snowfall while lower areas were lashed by rain yesterday.

In Himachal Pradesh, the maximum temperatures decreased by four to five notches as fresh snowfall occurred in the middle and high hills of the state, including at the tourist spots of Shimla, Kufri, Manali andDalhousie.

According to weather department, Key long was the coldest place in the state at minus 9.2 degrees Celsius. Rains lashed several parts of Punjab and Haryana also. Union Territory of Chandigarh received rainfall of 2.5mm yesterday. The city is likely to receive a few spells of rain orthunder showers today as well. As per the rainfall record, Karnal recorded 13.6mm rainfall, Bathinda 8 mm, Rohtak 7 mm, Hisar 6.6 mm and Ludhiana 3.5 mm yesterday.