Winter seems to have finally made its presence felt in Jharkhand, leading to cold wave conditions for the first time this season.

Both Daltonganj and Hazaribagh shivered as the mercury touched 4.9°C, the season’s lowest so far. At both places the minimum reading was around five notches below normal. The minimum reading nosedived to 7.2 °C in Jamshedpur on Monday, the season's lowest and 4.5 notches below normal.

Weathermen confirmed that cold wave conditions are prevailing at isolated places over Jharkhand including Daltonganj, Jamshedpur and Hazaribagh.

In met parlance, a cold wave condition is declared when the minimum temperature remains below 10 degree Celsius and when that particular day's temperature remains 4.5 notches below normal. Jamshedpur, Daltonganj and Hazaribagh fulfil the cold wave criteria. Capital Ranchi recorded the season's lowest temperature at 6.4°C.

While the night record in the capital was three notches below normal, Kanke - the freezer on its outskirts - was bone-numbing at around 5°C. Besides Ranchi, several other places like Bokaro (5.5 degrees), Deoghar (6.9 degrees), Godda ( 6 degrees ), Pakur ( 8.1 degrees ), Chaibasa ( 8.6 degrees ) too felt the sub-10 chill on Monday.

Dhanbad and Giridih also experience chilly weather with Bokaro, the temperature was three notches below its average normal.

Minimum readings in districts like Koderma, Latehar, Simdega, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan too witnessed a downward trend in the past 24 hours. This unexpected Celsius free fall has spurred the cold wave.

"The entire state is in the grip of the north- westerly wind, which will drag down minimum temperatures further in another 24 hours. The chill has intensified because of the strong and dry current. Snowfall in northern India is adding to the crispness of weather in Jharkhand," explained Abhishek Anand, director of Ranchi Meteorological Centre.

Clear skies, characteristic of winter, and low humidity aided the Celsius plunge. Weathermen at the IMD office in Ranchi issued moderate to dense fog warning in the next 48 hours.

Weathermen, however, maintained that the chill may take a break after the next 48 hours owing to the impact of a western disturbance passing through northern parts of the country.

Pratima Payal Dingh, a 52-year-old homemaker and resident of Sonari, was late for her morning walk. "I usually reach Jubilee Park around 6.45am. Today, I reached around 7.30am. There were many like me because of the intense cold," she sai