New Delhi, Jan 25: Parts of north India continued to reel under an intense cold wave with the mercury plummeting to minus 16.6 degrees Celsius in Kargil even as dense fog engulfed several regions including the national capital, disrupting train and flight services on Sunday.
Kargil town in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir had recoreded a low of minus 14.6 degrees Celsius yesterday, an official said.
Jammu and Kashmir braces up for more cold as the state’s Meteorological Department has said the prevalent dry weather in the Valley is likely to end, while predicting rain or snowfall for few days in the coming week.
Leh was relatively less cold today, registering a minimum of minus 15.8 degrees Celsius, a slight rise from previous night’s low of minus 16.2 degrees Celsius.
There are chances of isolated rains in the Valley over two days from January 26, and possibility of scattered to widespread rainfall or snowfall over three days from January 28, the MeT official said.
He said there is a chance of snowfall in the region especially in the higher reaches of the Valley during this period particularly at the end of the month which would coincide with the culmination of Chillai-Kalan.
Chillai-Kalan, which began on December 21 and ends on January 31, is the period of winter when the chances of snowfall are usually most frequent and maximum. In the national capital, while the mercury picked up a bit from yesterday’s low of 4.6 degrees Celsius, chilly conditions persisted and dense fog enveloped the city affecting normal life, and disrupted flight operations and led to cancellation of 50 Delhi-bound trains.
The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 7.5 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season, while the maximum temperature dropped to settle at 16.3 degrees Celsius, five notches below the season’s average.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a further drop in the night temperature as the mercury settled at a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 5 degrees Celsius, the MeT official said. The hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 7.1 degrees Celsius against yesterday’s minus 6.7 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Fourteen trains of North Western Railways were running late in Rajasthan due to fog in parts of the state and neigbhouring regions while Mount Abu recorded the lowest temperature of 1.4 degree C last night, officials said today.
Punjab and Haryana also reeled under severe cold wave conditions, while dense fog hit normal life, with Amritsar shivering at 1.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below the normal.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, recorded an increase of a degree in the minimum temperature which settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius.
The mercury there is witnessing an increasing trend since the last four days.
The MeT official said the mercury in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley also went up from minus 5.2 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded the minimum of minus 5 degrees Celsius, while the mercury in Kokernag, in south, settled at a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, he said.
Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab, and Patiala braved the cold at 4.3 degrees Celsius and 5.1 degrees Celsius, respectively, three notches below normal.
Chandigarh saw the mercury drop to 2.1 degrees Celsius,four notches below normal.
In Haryana, the minimum in Ambala and Hisar settled at 4.7 degrees Celsius and 7.6 degrees Celsius respectively.
Karnal recorded a low of 5 degrees Celsius while Narnaul saw the mercury dip to 6.7 degrees Celsius.
The weather office in its forecast said dry conditions will continue in Punjab and Haryana, while dense fog will occur at some places across both states in the next 24 hours.
In Rajasthan’s plains area, Udaipur shivered at 4.8 degree Celsius last night as the cold wave conditions persisted partially in parts of the state, a MeT official said.
Fourteen passenger trains of NWR were running late from one hours to 9.40 minutes, its CPRO Tarun Jain said.
Howarah-Sriganganagar train is running 9 hrs 40 mts, followed by Sealdah-Ajmer train by 9 hr 20 mts. However two trains’ timings have been changed due to fog; Ajmer-Jammu Tawai train, and Jaisalmer-Kathgodam.
Dense fog in Rajasthan also affected normal life and vehicular traffic in Pilani, Churu, Ganganagar, Alwar, and Bikaner.
Jaipur residents heaved a bit of a sigh of relief as cold wave abated and mercury rose to 6.4 degrees Celsius from 5.8 degres Celsius recorded yesterday.
Elsewhere the minimum temperature varied between 6.8 and 10.4 degrees Celsius spanning Ajmer, Kota, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Churu, Sriganganagar, and Sikar.
