<span style="color: #222222;">Cold weather continued to grip parts of North India today and a blanket of fog enveloped several areas of the region affecting road and rail traffic.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In Delhi, the mercury once again dipped to 4 degrees Celsius today morning. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">This is the second time in three days that the mercury has plunged to 4 degrees Celsius — the lowest temperature in the last four years.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The fall in temperature is due to cold wave conditions prevailing over northwest India, the Meteorological Department said. <br />''</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Cold wave conditions tightened grip in Kashmir as the mercury went down at most places last night, with Leh, in the Ladakh region, experiencing the coldest night of the winter so far.<br />''</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Leh recorded a low of minus 15.8 degrees Celsius last night – over three degrees down from minus 12.7 degrees Celsius the previous night, MET officials said, adding it was the coldest night of the season in the frontier town.<br />''</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The officials said the night temperature at most places in the Kashmir division went down last night as the cold conditions tightened grip in the valley and Ladakh region on the second day of 'Chillai-Kalan' – the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.<br />''</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Srinagar – the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir – recorded a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius last night – a notch down from the previous night, the officials said.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Delhi's air quality also deteriorated to 'severe' category today as a cover of smog surrounded the national capital and prevented dispersion of pollutants, authorities said. This is fourth time this season that the air quality here has worsened to severe category. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The mercury dipped to zero degrees Celsius in Karnal today as the cold wave sweeping most parts of Haryana and Punjab for over a week continued unabated.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Karnal in Haryana recorded a low of zero degrees Celsius, seven degrees below the normal and the lowest in the two states, a Meteorological Department official said.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Among other places in Haryana, Hisar, Ambala and Narnaul shivered at 2.7, 4.6 and 2 degrees Celsius respectively, up to five degrees below the normal. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In Punjab, Adampur continued to be the coldest place in the state for the second consecutive day at 0.2 degrees Celsius.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In Himachal Pradesh, Tribal district Lahaul and Spiti's administrative centre Keylong continued to be the coldest place in Himachal Pradesh with a minimum temperature of minus 8.8 degrees Celsius, the Meteorological (MeT) Department said on Saturday.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />''Cold wave conditions also gripped other parts of the state, causing the mercury to dip below the freezing point in Manali, Solan, Kalpa, Seobagh, Bhuntar and Sundernagar as well, the Met Centre Director Manmohan Singh said.</span><br />

Icy winds coupled with steep drop in mercury intensified the winter chill in North India on Wednesday as people woke up to hazy and misty morning at several parts in the region.In Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, the ongoing cold conditions further aggravated with the minimum dropping by up to four degrees. Some areas even witnessed fog and mist. Night temperatures declined across Kashmir where Srinagar experienced the season's low at minus 3.4 degree Celsius, two degrees below normal. Sriganganagar at 4.9 degree Celsius remained the coldest place in Rajasthan as dry and cold weather conditions prevailed in several parts of the desert state. High reaches of Himachal Pradesh reeled under sub zero temperatures while cold winds kept the weather chilly in Shimla and other lower areas of the hill state.<br/><br/>People in national capital and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh had also no respite from biting cold. In Delhi, the mercury remained at season's lowest of 6.4 degrees. Najibabad, with a minimum of 3.9 degrees, remained the coldest place in Uttar Pradesh.