Cold wave continues in Punjab & Haryana

Chandigarh: Cold conditions swept Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Monday as thick blanket of fog continued to disrupt normal life in the entire region with the MeT office saying that slight relief can be expected by Thursday.

Hisar in Haryana was the coldest place in the two states recording a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, the weather office said here. Piercing chill swept Bhiwani, which registered a low of 0.5 deg C, down three notches, while Narnaul`s low settled at 3 deg C. Ambala, too, experienced a cold night at 3 deg C, down two notches. Chandigarh, which remained under heavy fog today, recorded its coldest night of the season so far at 2.1 deg C, down four notches. There was no relief from ongoing cold wave sweeping Punjab, where severe chill gripped Amritsar at a low of 1.8 deg C, down one degree. Amritsar`s maximum yesterday had settled at bone-chilling 7.7 deg C. Patiala and Ludhiana also reeled under biting cold recording respective below normal minimums of 2.4 deg C and 2.7 deg C. Severe cold sweeping the region for the past few days has claimed 13 lives in Punjab and four in Haryana. Meanwhile, a thick blanket of fog continued to envelop entire Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh reducing visibility considerably. In the wake of dense fog, air, rail and road traffic in the region was affected. Unscheduled power cuts at many places in the region have also added to the woes of the people. According to the Director of Chandigarh`s MeT office, Surinder Paul, slight relief from fog and bone-chilling temperatures can be expected by Thursday. "The intensity and duration of the fog will be much less after 3-4 days. Though cold conditions will prevail, but maximum temperatures, which have been hovering 6-9 degrees below normal, should witness a slight increase. The minimum temperatures, too, are likely to increase marginally," he added. PTI