Punjab, Haryana under cold grip, dense fog disrupts normal life

Chandigarh: Punjab and Haryana remain under the cold grip, with Hisar shivering at 0.7 degrees Celsius, even as dense fog in the two states threw normal life out of gear, adversely affecting the rail, road and air traffic.

The minimum temperature in Hisar in Haryana was recorded at 0.7 deg Celsius, six notches below normal, a MeT Department official said here.

Among other places in Haryana which shivered under severe cold included Karnal, where the minimum dropped to 2 deg C, down five notches against normal limits while Narnaul registered a low of 3.5 deg C, down two notches.

Ambala, too, had a cold night at 5.3 deg C, down two degrees.

Chandigarh residents shivered at a low of 4.4 deg C, down two notches against normal.

The residents of Amritsar in Punjab also shivered at 4.8 deg C while Ludhiana too recorded an identical temperature.

Patiala's minimum settled at 4 deg C, down three notches against normal. Bathinda was even colder at 3 deg C while Halwara reeled at a low of 3.1 deg C.

Notably, minimum temperature at most places in the two states including Chandigarh had hovered above normal yesterday.

However, the maximum temperature yesterday dropped considerably as the icy cold winds swept the region, settling in the range of 11-15 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the residents across the two states woke up to a thick blanket of fog this morning, which considerably reduced visibility levels.

Mohali, Patiala, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ropar, Moga and Ludhiana were among other places in Punjab to be covered under fog while visibility was affected due to fog at Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Gurugram and Faridabad in Haryana.

Chandigarh was also under thick blanket of fog this morning. School going children and office goers were caught up in the foggy weather, even as severe chill gripped the Union Territory.

Officials said that normal movement of rail and air traffic in the region was also affected, while the motorists driving on the roads including the highways had to put their vehicles' headlights on in the morning and move at a slow pace.