Delhi:
A cold wave, gripping north India, relented marginally with mercury inching upwards on the first day of 2012 even as rains drenched several parts of the region ushering in a wet New Year.
Jammu and Kashmir, however, reeled under the bone-chilling cold as summer capital Srinagar and scenic Gulmarg froze in sub-zero temperatures, the Meteorological Department said.
Tourists and locals witnessed a white New Year in parts of Himachal Pradesh as Kufri, Fagu, Wild Flower Hall and Narkanda received snowflakes in the early hours.
Snowfall, however, eluded the state capital Shimla to the utter disappointment of thousands of tourists who thronged the city.
Delhiites woke up to clear skies as the minimum temperature rose to 8.4 degrees Celsius, up by a notch while the maximum settled at 19.5 degrees Celsius, the MeT office said.
The city received light rains in some areas in the evening, it said.
Minimum temperatures rose by a few notches in several parts of the north, including Punjab and Haryana, providing slight relief to the people from the bitter cold which has so far claimed 135 lives across the country this winter.
Severe chill persisted in Amritsar, with the city registering a low of 2.8 degrees Celsius, which was within the normal range.
Temperatures rose in other parts of Punjab where Ludhiana and Patiala recorded respective lows of 5 and 6 degrees Celsius, both the readings a degree above normal.
In Haryana, Ambala recorded a low of 6.8 degrees Celsius, up by a notch. Hisar had a low of 6.1 degrees Celsius, also up by a degree.
Karnal's low rose by two notches to settle at 7.3 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.
Thundershowers drenched large parts of Uttar Pradesh with Fatehgarh and Hamirpur each receiving three cm of rains, the MeT Dept said.
Aligarh and Agra each recorded two cm of rains as hailstorms were reported from some parts of the state. Etawah was the coldest zone in the state recording a low of 4.1 degrees Celsius.
Leh town in Ladakh region recorded the season's lowest temperature at minus 18.8 degree Celsius. In adjoining Kargil town, the minimum temperature settled at minus 16 degrees Celsius, a one degree drop from yesterday.
Srinagar was freezing at minus 4.9 degrees Celsius, which for the second time is the season's lowest temperature there.
The skiing resort of Gulmarg recorded a minimum of minus 8 degrees Celsius, an increase of one degree compared to the previous night, the weather office said.
Shimla settled at a low of 3.1 degrees Celsius while Bhuntar, Manali, Solan and Sundernagar recorded respective minimums of minus 1.7, two, 2.8 and 3.1 degrees Celsius.
In the desert state Rajasthan, night temperatures marginally rose in some parts with Churu being the coldest place at a low of 3.9 degrees Celsius.
Sikar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Pilani and Barmer recorded respective minimums of 4.2, 4.7, 5.5, 6.9 and 8.2 degrees Celsius, all the readings being one to two degrees above the normal, the MeT office said.
State capital Jaipur recorded a low of 12.7 degrees Celsius, up by a few notches.
Meanwhile, several places in Hadauti region and nearby areas received light rains. Sawaimadhopur, Kota and Rawatbhata recorded 9.1, 3.2 and 3.1 mm of rainfall respectively, it said.