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.
In Rajasthan, the sole hill station Mount Abu was the coldest place recording a minimum of 1.2 degree Celsius, Met department said.
Union Territory of Chandigarh had a low of 8.1 deg C, up by two degrees above normal, MeT department said.
Among other areas of Haryana, Ambala and Hisar braved cold weather at 9 deg C and 8.4 deg C, up by a degree respectively.
In Punjab, Amritsar recorded low of 6.6 deg C, up by two notches above normal. Ludhiana and Patiala recorded minimum at 10 deg C each, up by 3 notches above normal.
In Uttar Pradesh, the night temperature fell in Varanasi, Faizabad divisions and changed little in the remaining divisions of the state. The temperature was appreciably above normal in Lucknow division and normal in the remaining divisions of the state.
Lowest minimum temperature of 7.4 degrees Celsius was recorded in Kanpur city.
