New Delhi: Intense cold wave coupled with fog threw normal life out of gear in North India as most trains ran late by several hours and schedule of flights was also affected.
Delhiites experienced a chilly day today as maximum temperature tumbled seven degrees below normal to settle down at 14.4 degree Celsius.
The city woke up to a foggy morning with a cloud cover. The fog, however, cleared as the day progressed but overcast conditions remained. A cold breeze which billowed through the city throughout the day, added to the chill.
The minimum temperature settled at 9.4 deg C, which was two notches above the normal level. It was recorded at 11 deg C yesterday.
Humidity oscillated between 88 to 100 per cent.
Cold wave continued in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region as the minimum temperature in most parts settled below the freezing point, with the frontier town of Kargil being the coldest place in the state at over minus 19 deg C.
Kargil was the coldest recorded place in the state with the mercury settling at minus 19.2 deg C last night.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, settled above the freezing point for the fourth day today as the city recorded a low of 0.6 deg C as against .9 deg C the previous night, an official of the MeT department here said.
Mercury in Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - settled at minus 0.4 deg C.
Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, recorded a low of minus 12.3 deg C, over eight degrees down from the minus 4 deg C the previous night.
While in Himachal Pradesh, cold wave conditions continued in most parts parts, even as the region remained dry and day temperatures rose marginally in lower hills.
Tribal Lahaul and Bharmaur valleys had no respite from piercing cold wave conditions.
While higher reaches in tribal areas had mild snowfall, lower areas were lashed by chilly winds and the mild sun failed to warm up the region.
All roads in the non-tribal areas have been opened and normal traffic has been restored.
Keylong and Bharmaur recorded a low of minus 12.9 deg C and minus 11.1 deg C respectively while Kalpa and Manali recorded minus 2.4 deg C.
The maximum temperatures rose marginally in lower hills. Una was hottest with 22.2 deg C, followed by Sundernagar 20.3, Solan 18, Bhunter 17.4, Nahan 16.5, Dharamshala 16.2, Shimla 15 and Kalpa 3.6 deg C.
In Uttar Pradesh`s Shamli district a four-month-old girl, whose family was displaced during the Muzaffarnagar riots, died due to cold.
Fog enveloped most parts of Rajasthan where mercury dipped further even as Mount Abu was the coldest place in the desert state recording a minimum temperature of 1 degree Celsius.
A dense fog disrupted normal life in most parts of Punjab and Haryana throwing air, rail and road traffic out of gear even as the minimum temperature settled three deg C above normal.
While several trains criss-crossing the region ran hours behind schedule, many flights from local airport were either rescheduled or cancelled due to foggy conditions.
In the plains of Punjab and Haryana, Bhiwani was the coldest place with a low of 5.8 deg C followed by six deg C at Amritsar, which was three notches above normal.
