The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert as biting cold wave conditions prevail in the national capital. On Thursday, Delhi recorded a 'cold day' with the lowest maximum temperature of the season.

The maximum temperature dropped to 18 degrees Celsius, notches below normal and the minimum temperature dropped to 6 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Ghaziabad: People were seen sitting near fire to comfort themselves.

An autorickshaw driver says, "It's very cold here, nobody wants to travel in autorickshaw. So, there is no work for us." pic.twitter.com/US7cHxCSAx

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 18, 2020

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre, told PTI that the Western Himalayas recorded widespread snowfall due to strong western disturbances and frosty winds have been blowing towards the plains, causing the mercury to drop.

For the plains, the IMD has declared a cold wave when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or lower, and 4.5 notches less than normal for two consecutive days.

Meanwhile, cold wave conditions prevailed in Himachal Pradesh with Keylong, Manali and Kalpa recording sub-zero temperatures in the last 24 hours. The weather remained dry in the hill state, but the minimum temperature decreased by one to two notches, a MeT department official said.

The minimum temperature at the famous tourist destination of Manali was recorded at minus 1.2 degrees Celsius. Dalhousie and Kufri recorded a low of 0.4 and 1.4 degrees Celsius, respectively. The highest temperature in the state was recorded in Solan at 21 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, Ambala, Hisar, Karnal, Bhiwani, Rohtak and Sirsa recorded below normal minimum temperatures of 4.4 degrees Celsius, 4.2 degrees Celsius, 4.9 degrees Celsius, 4.8 degrees Celsius, 4.4 degrees Celsius and 4.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. Amritsar in Punjab also experienced a cold night at 4.2 degrees Celsius, while Ludhiana registered a low of 5.5 degrees Celsius.