New Delhi: Respite from severe cold wave
conditions eluded most parts of northern and eastern regions
on Thursday as 24 more people succumbed to the extreme weather,
taking the nationwide death toll to 114.
The biting cold claimed 13 lives in Uttar Pradesh, eight
in West Bengal`s Malda, two in Punjab and one in Haryana as
fog blanketed several parts of the region disrupting rail and
road traffic.
Residents of national capital Delhi woke up to a sunny
morning though the minimum temperature dipped to six deg C,
against yesterday`s 6.8 degrees, the MeT Department said.
Uttar Pradesh, too, witnessed bright sunshine today after
a couple of days even as cold wave conditions and dense fog
continued uninterrupted claiming 13 more lives, taking the
toll in the state to 74.
Reports reaching here said that six people died in Deoria,
four in Bareilly, two in Lucknow and one in Ghazipur in the
past 24 hours.
Kanpur city recording 2.6 deg C was the coldest place in
the state.
In Punjab and Haryana, three more persons died due to
severe cold conditions in the region in the past 24 hours,
officials said. The combined death toll in the two states now
stands at 14.
In West Bengal, eight people died in Milki gram panchayat
area under Englishbazar block since yesterday, official
reports said.
The skiing resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir witnessed
one of the season`s coldest nights as the mercury slipped to a
low of minus 11.4 degrees Celsius, a MeT official said.
The minimum temperature at the tourist resort of Pahalgam
plunged to minus 7.4 degrees Celsius. Both the resorts
witnessed moderate snowfall over the last two days.
In remote Leh district of Ladakh region, the minimum
temperature slipped to minus 16.2 degrees Celsius and in its
adjoining Kargil district mercury plunged to a low of minus
12.8 degrees, the weather office said.
PTI
