Siberian winds add to biting winter chill in North India

Zeenews Bureau New Delhi: One of the coldest Indian winters in recent years is set to intensify further on Tuesday with the low pressure over Siberia pushing icy winds towards India. On Tuesday, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius, a notch above yesterday’s low at 2.4. As per Indian Metrological Department (IMD) the system of low pressure will persist for atleast a couple of weeks. While the increase in wind speeds will clear out fog to some extent, it will also make nights even more biting. The intense cold across north India has disrupted rail and air traffic and keeping millions wrapped up in layers of woollens. And although the sun is out, it was not enough to provide a respite from the terrible chill that has killed scores of homeless people in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Dense fog and icy winds disrupted normal life across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Bihar. Shimla recorded minus 0.6 degree Celsius, the season`s lowest in the Himachal capital. The minimum temperature in the tourist haven Manali was 4 degrees below the freezing point. The cold wave continued unabated throughout Jammu and Kashmir, with the minimum temperatures below the freezing point in the Kashmir Valley and in the Ladakh region. Kargil in Ladakh region was the coldest in the state at 16.4 degrees below the freezing point. The night temperature was minus 4.9 degrees in Srinagar, minus 8.2 degrees in Pahalgam and minus 9.8 degrees in Gulmarg. Most water bodies, including parts of Dal Lake, have frozen. The government has extended the winter vacation of school children in the Jammu region till Jan 13. Churu in Rajasthan saw night temperature dip to minus 2.7 degrees Celsius. In Jaipur it was 2.3 degrees Celsius Sunday night, the lowest this winter. Places in Rajasthan close to Delhi were wrapped in a blanket of fog. Chandigarh, the twin-capital of Punjab and Haryana, experienced the coldest day in three decades at a maximum of 6.1 degrees Celsius -- the lowest since 1982. Monday`s minimum there was 2.1 degrees -- the lowest for the season so far. Officials reported 26 deaths due to cold since early Saturday in Bihar, where bone-chilling winds have made life miserable. With IANS inputs