New Delhi: The unrelenting cold wave sweeping
north India on Thursday claimed 21 more lives in Uttar Pradesh and
Himachal Pradesh, pushing the nation-wide death toll to 159
this winter.
National capital Delhi, where the mercury has plummeted
since the past few days, settled at a low of 5.3 deg C, two
notches below normal, while the maximum stood at 18.7 degrees,
the MeT office said.
As many as 18 people perished overnight in Uttar Pradesh
as cold wave conditions tightened its grip over the state,
officials said.
Eight people fell prey to the harsh weather in Barabanki,
five in Jaunpur, four in Maharajganj and one in Lalitpur, they
said.
The lowest temperature in the state of 3.2 deg C was
recorded at Najibabad and Banda, the weather office said.
Biting cold continued unabated as the mercury remained
below normal levels despite sunshine in most parts of Himachal
Pradesh, where three persons died in heavy snowstorm in
Chamba.
The minimum temperature recorded in state capital Shimla
was 1.8 deg C. Key tourist resort Manali, which experienced 10
cm and 20 cm of fresh snow, settled at low of two degrees.
Breaking a 16-year-old record, the mercury in Kashmir
Valley stayed below the freezing point for the fourth
consecutive day today, the MeT office said.
In the summer capital Srinagar, the minimum temperature
was recorded at minus 3.8 deg C, a drop of 0.5 degrees from
last night.
Leh town of remote Ladakh region continued to shiver at a
minimum of minus 10.4 degrees Celsius, while the low in
adjoining Kargil district was recorded at minus 18 degrees.
Cold wave conditions prevailed across Punjab, Haryana and
Chandigarh with temperatures remaining below normal levels.
Chandigarh experienced a cold night at 4.6 degrees
Celsius.
In Haryana, Narnaul was the coldest place recording a low
of two degrees Celsius, down three notches while Hisar was
also equally cold at 2.1 degrees.
Rajasthan was under the grip of a severe cold which threw
life out of gear for residents of the state.
Churu in plains recorded the lowest temperature of minus
0.2 degrees Celsius followed by Rawatbhata where people
shivered at two degrees.
Pink city Jaipur had a low of 4.4 degrees Celsius and
Bikaner had a minimum of 4.6 deg C, according to the MeT Dept
here.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 12, 2012, 19:47