New Delhi: People in north India got a respite from cold wave conditions as clear sunny weather prevailed over several parts of the region during the day today although fog disrupted road, rail, and air traffic in the early hours.
A sunny day prevailed in the national capital after a cold and foggy morning which brought down visibility to less than 50 metres, affecting around 100 flights and 60 trains.
According to the weather department, maximum temperature was recorded at 21.6 degrees Celsius, a degree above normal while the minimum was registered at 6.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average.
60 north-bound trains, including Rajdhani trains coming from Ranchi, Bhubneswar, Kolkata, Sealdah, Dibrugarh were running late by several hours due to dense fog.
Kashmir Valley witnessed a warm day with clear sky and bright sunshine owing to dry weather, even as the minimum temperatures kept hovering around the freezing point.
Srinagar saw a rise in mercury with maximum temperature of 12.7 degrees Celsius yesterday, although it registered a slight dip in night temperature at minus 3.7 degrees Celsius.
Pahalgam recorded minus 6.4 degrees Celsius followed by Qazigund minus 4.2, Gulmarg minus 5.6, Kupwara minus 4.1, and Kokernag minus 1.4 degrees Celsius.
Leh town, in Ladakh region, recorded a minimum of minus 15 degrees Celsius, while mercury in Kargil, also in Ladakh, settled at a low of minus 15.6 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest place in the state.
The Met Department has said a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect Jammu and Kashmir from January 20 onwards raising the possibility of rains or snow in the region.
"There is possibility of light to moderate rain or snow from January 21 afternoon to January 23," it said.
After two days of respite, cold conditions today revived at many places in Punjab and Haryana with fog affecting lives.
Amritsar was the coldest in the two states recording a low of 2 degrees, one degree below normal, a MeT report said.
Chandigarh's minimum temperature settled at 6.6 degrees Celsius, while Patiala 5.6, Ludhiana 7.6, Narnaul 4, Hisar 5.7, Ambala 6.8 degrees Celsius.
A MeT official said here that fog prevailed at many places in the two states including Chandigarh early today, reducing visibility levels.
Several trains including New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi Express were delayed while two flights each from Chandigarh to Delhi and to Mumbai stood cancelled.
Dense fog disrupted movement of trains and vehicles on road in Rajasthan, throwing normal life out of gear, with hilly Mount Abu area experiencing the lowest temperature at 2 degrees Celsius.
Over eight trains under the North-West Region (NWR) have been running late and five others rescheduled, an NWR spokesman said.
Road transportation, especially roadways buses were plying late due to fog in neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, an RTDC official said.
Churu recorded a minimum of 4.1 degree Celsius, followed by Udaipur at 5.2, Pilani 5.7, Srigangangar 6.2, and Jaipur at 7.3 degrees Celsius.
