The name winter comes from an old Germanic word that means ‘time of water’, referring to the rain and snow in middle and high latitudes.
As temperatures dip in various parts of India and the world, Google marked the beginning of winter on Tuesday with an animated doodle featured a hedgehog in the snow.
December 21, also the Winter Solstice, marks the beginning of the season. The winter season begins in the northern hemisphere today and will last till 20 March, 2022As the Earth tilts on its axis, many across the Southern Hemisphere prepare to chill out for the next few months
According to Britannica, the name winter comes from an old Germanic word that means “time of water” and refers to the rain and snow of winter in middle and high latitudes.
Winter solstice, also called hibernal solstice, refers to the two events during a year when the path of the sun in the sky is farthest south in the Northern Hemisphere (December 21) and farthest north in the Southern Hemisphere (June 20 or 21). At the winter solstice, the sun travels the shortest path through the sky, and that day has the least daylight and the longest night.
A cold wave swept Delhi on Monday with the minimum temperature at the Safdarjung Observatory, considered the official marker for the capital, dropping to 3.2 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal and the lowest so far this season.
Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are very likely to continue in northwest India over the next two days and abate thereafter, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Cold wave conditions will continue over central and east India for the next three days and relief is likely thereafter, it said.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Chillai Kalan, or the 40 harshest days of winter in the state, began on Tuesday and will end on January 31. Residents woke up to frozen water bodies and taps as the valley remained in the grip of severe cold wave with the minimum temperature settling several degrees below the freezing point.