New Delhi: Cold wave tightened its grip over
North India on Wednesday with fog disrupting normal life in most
parts of the region.
In the capital Delhi, it was yet another sunny but cold
morning with the minimum temperature hovering around eight
degree Celsius while a layer of fog covered the city in the
early hours.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 8 degree Celsius,
one degree above normal, while the maximum was 20.6 degree
Celsius, which is normal at this time of the season.
Delhiites have been experiencing pleasant but cold
mornings for the past three days.
There was a shallow fog cover over the city for sometime
in the morning. The visibility level in the capital in the
morning was 500 metres, the MeT office said.
Cold wave conditions continued unabated in Kashmir Valley
with minimum temperatures remaining several degrees below the
freezing point.
The minimum temperature in the summer capital Srinagar
dropped by half a degree as the mercury here settled at minus
3.1 degrees Celsius as compared to yesterday`s minus 2.5
degrees Celsius, a MeT official said.
The south Kashmir resort of Pahalgam recorded a low of
minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, while north Kashmir`s skiing resort
Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley
during winter, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.2
degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Leh town in the remote Ladakh
region rose by nearly two degrees to settle at minus 13
degrees Celsius, while in nearby Kargil town the night
temperature was recorded at minus 13.4 degrees Celsius, the
official said.
Meanwhile, the month-long dry spell in the Valley may
soon end as the state weather department has forecast rain and
snowfall in parts of the Valley over the next three days even
as cold wave continues unabated in the region.
The MeT department has issued an advisory warning land
and air transport systems of the state may be disrupted as the
western disturbances, which cause rains and snowfall, over the
state are likely to intensify.
Mercury rose marginally in parts of Rajasthan with Sikar
recording the lowest temperature of 4.3 degree Celsius.
While Churu and Vanasthali recorded a night temperature
of 5.1 and 5.3 degree Celsius respectively, Bikaner had a low
of 7.7 degree Celsius, the Met department said.
The tourist city Jaisalmer recorded a night temperature
of 7.8 degree Celsius and other cities also recorded minimum
temperature in the range of 8 degree Celsius to 12.5 degree
Celsius, it said.
Dense fog enveloped many parts of Punjab, Haryana and
Chandigarh today affecting normal life even as bitter cold
persisted in the region.
Fog affected normal movement of trains passing through
the two states and many were delayed by hours, railway sources
said. It reduced visibility at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and
Jalandhar while in Haryana, it prevailed in Rohtak, Karnal,
Ambala, Panipat and Kurukshetra.
Visibility levels also dropped due to fog for the second
day today in Chandigarh, where the minimum temperature settled
at 6.2 degree Celsius.
Amritsar continued to be the coldest place in the two
states recording a minimum temperature of 3.4 degree Celsius,
the MeT Office said here.
Ludhiana, too, experienced a cold night at 5 degree
Celsius, down one while Patiala was even colder at 4.6 degree
Celsius.
The MeT has forecast that fog will again occur in the
region tomorrow.
In the east, Kolkata recorded a maximum of max 26 degree
Celsius and a minimum of 19 degrees Celsius.
PTI
