Northern India remained in the grip of cold wave with mercury hovering around freezing point in several parts of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. There was no let up in the intense cold conditions in Himachal Pradesh with Shimla recorded 3.2 degree Celsius, while it was minus 1.0 deg C at Bhuntar. Elsewhere, Solan and Sundernagar touched zero degree mark while Mandi recorded a low of 0.5 deg C. Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district recorded a minimum of minus 5 deg C, while Kalpa in Kinnaur district registered a low of minus 3.4 deg C. The Met has predicted rain or snow in high altitude areas of the hilly state in the coming days. In Jammu and Kashmir, snowfall in parts of Ladakh region and cloud cover in the Kashmir Valley brought an appreciable drop in the night temperature. Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest place in the state with a minimum of minus 10.2 deg C followed by nearby Kargil which recorded a low of minus 9.2 deg C. The high altitude areas of Ladakh, including Kargil, received snowfall on Thursday. Srinagar also showed an appreciable increase in the night temperature which settled at minus 3.5 deg C. Pahalgam recorded a night temperature of minus 1.0 deg C. People in Haryana reeling under intense cold conditions over the past few days got some respite as the minimum temperature increased by a few notches but Punjab continued to remain under the grip of piercing chill. The minimum at Chandigarh settled at 6 deg C. In Punjab, Amritsar continued to reel under biting cold as the low settled at 3.4 deg C, down by a degree. Ludhiana was equally cold at 3.7 deg C, down two notches, while the low at Patiala was 4.1 deg C, also two degrees below normal. Meanwhile, mercury rose by one to four notches in Rajasthan due to change in upper air circulation.