NEW DELHI, Jan 13:
Cold conditions intensified across north India today claiming two lives in Rajasthan while a dense fog engulfing the region forced cancellation of 89 trains.
There was shallow fog and traces of rainfall witnessed in some areas of the national capital this morning with the minimum temperature settling at 12 degrees Celsius.
While flight operations were normal, as many as nine Delhi-bound trains, including Guwahati Rajdhani Express, Vikramshila Express and Magadh Express, were reported to be running late and one rescheduled due to fog.
89 trains remained cancelled as announced earlier, a senior railway official said.
The maximum temperature settled at 23.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average while the minimum temperature was recoded at 12 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal, said a MeT department official.
The humidity in air oscillated between 95 and 59 per cent.
In Rajasthan, cold wave has claimed the lives of two beggars in Jaipur during last 24 hours, as the state continued to reel under cold conditions.
A 70-year-old man was found dead at New Gate in Chaura Rasta, while another 45-year-old was found lying dead in Bajri Mandi in Gopalpura area in Jaipur yesterday due to cold weather, police said.
Dabok in Udaipur recorded the lowest temperature of 7.8 degree Celsius followed by Sikar 8, Mount Abu 8.4, and Jaipur 10.6 degree Celsius last night, a MeT official said.
There was dense fog in Bikaner district, which cleared around 9 am.
Elsewhere the minimum temperature varied between 11 and 15.1 degree Celsius including at Jodhpur, Pilani, Ajmer, Sawaimadhopur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, and Churu.
Many parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar were engulfed in a thick layer of fog this morning affecting visibility even as the minimum temperature went down at most places in the Valley. Leh at minus 13.2 degrees Celsius was the coldest.
Motorists negotiated the roads with caution in the poor light. However, there was no fog around the airport, “flight operations went on normally,” said an official at Srinagar International Airport.
The mercury in Srinagar dropped by nearly two degrees from a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at a low of minus 2.5 degrees, said a Meteorological Department spokesman.
There was a dip by nearly three notches in the minimum at the famous tourist resort of Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp during the annual Amarnath Yatra, he added. The mercury settled at minus 4.9 degrees at Pahalgam .
There was a drop of 1.6 degrees in the night temperature in north Kashmir’s Kupwara town as it recorded a low of minus 3.1 degrees.
While the minimum temperature stayed at minus 2.8 degrees in Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir Valley, the mercury rose by a degree at the ski-resort of Gulmarg, which recorded a low of minus 5 degrees.
In the frontier region of Ladakh, Leh recorded a low of minus 13.2 degrees while nearby Kargil town registered a minimum of minus 12.4 degrees, over two notches up from the previous night’s minus 14.8 degrees.
The MeT office said there is a possibility of isolated rainfall in the plains of the Valley while the higher reaches may receive light snowfall.
Kashmir is in the midst of the 40-day-long harshest phase of winter, which began on December 21 and will continue till the end of this month.
Meanwhile, five passenger trains of North Western Railway were running late by about one hour to over 4 hrs due to fog in adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, its CPRO Tarun Jain said.
While, minimum temperatures hovered two to three degrees above the normal in most parts of Punjab and Haryana with light showers hitting a few places across the two neighbouring states. (PTI)
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