Toll so far this winter is 62; fog hits rail and road traffic in North India

The entire North India continued to remain in the grip of severe cold on Saturday with 13 more people succumbing to the chill in Uttar Pradesh even as the mercury went up a few notches in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

Delhiites basked under sunny weather on Saturday with the sky remaining clear for most part of the day after a misty morning. Both maximum and minimum temperatures remained a degree above normal to settle at 21.4 and 8.5 respectively against Friday’s 19 and 6.3. The weatherman has forecast a mainly clear sky with mist or fog in the morning for Sunday.

Biting cold

Uttar Pradesh, however, continued to reel under biting cold with 13 more persons dying in the State, taking the toll so far this winter to 62.

While four persons lost their lives in Hathras district, three died in Kanpur Dehat, followed by two each in Mirzapur and Lalitpur and one each in Chitrakoot and Banda districts.

Muzaffarnagar and Kanpur remained the coldest places with each recording a minimum of 2. Night temperatures hovered below normal in most parts of the State, dipping by as much as 6 to 11 degrees.

Freezing point

In Himachal also, night temperatures plummeted in the mid and lower hills and hovered around the freezing point.

Keylong in Lahaul & Spiti district remained the coldest place with a low of minus 4 degrees, followed by Kalpa in Kinnaur district with minus 2.6.

While Solan and Manali recorded minimums of 1 and 1.6, Shimla and Sundernagar settled at 3 degrees, the weatherman said, adding that Lahaul & Spiti, Rohtang and Kunzam Passes had another spell of moderate snowfall.

The cold wave swept the entire Rajasthan too, with Sriganganagar shivering at 1.6 followed by Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Churu and Pilani with minimums of 4.4, 5.7, 5.9 and 6.7 degrees.

In Punjab and Haryana, fog threw life out of gear in most parts even as the temperature went up three notches above normal in most parts of the two States.

Rail and road traffic remained affected, causing inconvenience to commuters. Later, as visibility improved, flights from Chandigarh to various States resumed, though with minor delays.

Narnaul continued to be the coldest place in the region with a minimum of 4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. Hisar, Ambala and Bhiwani in Haryana had a low of 6.6, 7.8 and 5.6 degrees Celsius respectively.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a minimum of 6.6, up three notches above normal, while Ludhiana and Patiala had a low of 7.9 and 8.5 degrees respectively.

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