Severe cold in North India today claimed
11 more lives in Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll this winter to 140.
Delhi continued to shiver at a minimum of 2.9 degrees, four notches below normal, while the maximum temperature in the city plummeted by eight degrees below normal to settle at 12.6 degrees.The Met department forecasts a foggy morning tomorrow.
Officials in Uttar Pradesh said, six persons died in Barabanki district due to cold, four in Sultanpur and one in Etah district. Muzaffarnagar was the coldest place with a low of 0.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Najibabad in Bijnor district with 1 degree. Agra recorded a low of 1.1 degrees.
In Uttarakhand, districts located in the higher reaches including Almora, Tehri Garhwal and Pithoragarh recorded sub-zero temperatures. The plains remained wrapped in thick fog cover.
Cold wave conditions prevailed over entire Kashmir Valley, with Srinagar recording the coldest night of the season at minus 5.4 degrees Celsius.
Rajasthan too remained in the grip of biting cold with the mercury in the famous hill resort of Mount Abu settled at minus 1 degrees, followed by Fatehpur, which shivered at zero degree Celsius.
Normal life was affected in Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh too, where temperatures fell sharply by up to five notches below normal.
There is no respite from bone chilling cold wave in Punjab and Haryana and Chandigarh as minimum temperature fell sharply by up to five degrees below normal, throwing life out of gear. Narnaul in Haryana recorded the winter season's lowest temperature at zero deg C, down by five degrees below normal.
MET Department in its forecast said the cold wave will continue for next 24 hours in both states with partly cloudy sky and foggy weather conditions. Dense fog and mist which engulfed the region also hit the rail, road and air traffic, causing inconvenience to commuters.
Many trains were running either late for several hours or cancelled, while morning flights from Chandigarh airport were cancelled due to poor visibility. Chandigarh shivered at 4 degree C.
Himachal Pradesh was warmer in the day but became cold in the night as mercury dips very sharply immediately after sunset. Wild animals are seen in residential areas due to intense cold and freezing of water sources in higher hills. AIR Correspondent reports that it was a bright sunny day today in the hill state although bone chilling cold wave still continued .
Temperature recorded minus in four cities while it dipped to 0.6 (Zero point six) degree Celsius in Shimla, the lowest in last fortnight. People are reeling under intense cold wave condition throughout the state. Freezing condition in tribal belt of Lahaul Spiti have forced Himalayan blue sheep locally known as Snow Ibex to step down in residential areas of the district. Acording to met department this spell of cold wave would continue for next 24 hours.
