New Delhi: Cold wave conditions persisted in North India on Sunday, where temperature remained variably below normal in most parts of the region.
In Himachal, five persons were killed in an avalanche in Kinnau district last night, officials said, adding upper reaches of the state remained cut off for the fifth day today due to heavy snowfall in past few days.
Vehicular traffic could not be restored on the Hindustan-Tibet and Kiratpur-Manali National Highways which were blocked due to snowfall, they added.
Kelong was the coldest place in the state with a minimum of minus 12.5 degrees, whereas Manali shivered at minus 6.2 degrees, six notches below normal, Met office said.
The minimum temperature in capital Shimla was recorded at zero degree and the maximum was 8.8 degrees Celsius, they added.
Normal life remained affected in most parts of the state due to disruption in supply of electricity and water.
In Capital Delhi, the mercury plunged by a degree to settle at 6.3 degrees, while the maximum temperature remained at 18.9 degrees Celsius.
Met department forecasts a foggy morning for tomorrow.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the weather remained mainly dry and no fresh snowfall was reported from any part of the Valley.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar was normal at minus 0.5 degrees, while the maximum was recorded at 7.5 degrees Celsius, Met officials said.
The weathermen forecasts possibility of snow in next few days.
In Uttarakhand, Mukteshwar recorded the lowest minimum of
minus 1.5 degrees, followed by Tehri, which shivered at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius.
While cold wave conditions persisted in most parts of the state, particularly in the upper reaches, the weather remained mainly dry throughout the day and now fresh snowfall was reported in the state, Met officials said.
Punjab and Haryana too continued to remain in the grip of cold as temperatures hovered below normal in most parts of the region.
Residents woke up to a foggy morning in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which recorded a minimum of 7.6 degrees Celsius.
Narnaul was the coldest place in Haryana with a low of 3.2 degrees, followed by Bhiwani at 4.8 degrees Celsius.
In Punjab, Amritsar braved the chill at 4.2 degrees Celsius.
The Met office, in its forecast, says cold conditions will prevail in the region over the next two days.
Weather in Uttar Pradesh, which witnessed over 250 deaths due to harsh winter, remained mainly dry, with the mercury dipping at several places during night.
Agra was the coldest place in the state with a minimum of
3.7 degrees Celsius.
The night temperatures fell in various parts of the state including Varanasi, Faizabad, Alllahabad, Lucknow and Jhansi and Agra divisions.
It was, however, above normal in Gorakhpur division.
PTI
