NEW DELHI: Cold conditions prevailed in most parts of north India today even as higher reaches of Kashmir Valley received fresh snowfall further bringing down the mercury.
In the national capital, cold conditions continued unabated with the minimum temperature being recorded at 6.5 degree Celsius and dense fog being witnessed in some parts.
The maximum temperature settled at 19.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average, said a MeT department official.
Foggy conditions prevailed in many parts of Delhi as the visibility was recorded 600 meters at 5.30 AM which reduced further to 100 meters at 6.30 AM.
In Jammu & Kashmir, higher reaches of the Valley received fresh snowfall while many areas in the plains received rains leading to drop in temperature. Fresh snowfall was recorded in famous tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam and many areas in higher reaches of the Valley, while the plains, including Srinagar, received rain.
Fresh snowfall led to decrease in temperature across the Kashmir division. Night temperature once again went below the freezing point in Srinagar as it recorded a low of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg at minus 11.4 degrees Celsius was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir. Kargil town recorded a low of minus 10.5 degrees Celsius against previous night’s minus 10.0 degrees Celsius.
Cold wave continued unabated across Punjab and Haryana with Amritsar recording the lowest temperature in the plains. According to a MeT department report, Amritsar shivered at a low of 2.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, while the temperatures in Ludhiana and Patiala settled at 4.6 degrees Celsius and 6.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, also experienced a cold night at 5.6 degrees Celsius. Narnaul in Haryana shivered at 2.5 degrees Celsius. Other places in Haryana also shivered under biting chill with Hisar recording a low of 4.4 degrees Celsius and Karnal 4 degrees Celsius.
The desert state of Rajasthan too continued to reel under cold weather conditions. Churu recorded the state’s lowest minimum temperature at 3.2 degrees Celsius even as fog disrupted rail traffic at some places. State capital Jaipur recorded a minimum temperature of 6 degrees Celsius.
Ten trains were running late due to foggy conditions in the northern region, a Northwestern Railway spokesman said. These trains, including Howrah-Jodhpur Express and Sealdah-Ajmer Express, are running late by anything between 55 minutes and four-and-a-half hours. (PTI)