Chandigarh: Haryana`s Narnaul town was the coldest place in the state early Monday with the minimum temperature hitting a new low of 3 degrees Celsius below the freezing point, Met officials here said.
Officials in Punjab and Haryana said that 21 people have died because of the intense cold wave in the region over the past one month. Of these, 13 have died in Punjab and eight in Haryana. Most of those who died were homeless, poor people living in the open.
Hisar town in Haryana recorded a low of -0.8 degrees Celsius on Monday. The temperature in the town had slippede to a low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius early Sunday.
Met officials said that most places in Haryana and Punjab were reeling under intense cold wave conditions. The maximum temperatures at most places were seven to 11 degrees below normal, while the minimum temperatures were one to four degrees below the season`s average.
While the minimum temperatures in both the states hovered between 3 degrees Celsius below and 3 degrees Celsius above the freezing point Monday, the day temperatures Sunday were in the range of just nine to 12 degrees Celsius.
Bhiwani in Haryana recorded a low of 0.5 degree, while Chandigarh had a low of 2.7 degrees Celsius on Monday.
In Punjab, the Sikh holy city of Amritsar was the coldest at a low of 1.8 degrees Celsius, while Patiala and Ludhiana witnessed lows of 2.4 and 2.7 degrees respectively.
Met officials said the dry, cold spell along with foggy conditions in some parts will continue for the next two days.
IANS
