Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 25: Mercury plunged to below normal while fog engulfed entire Jammu and its adjoining areas disrupting normal life and hitting air, train and road traffic, here today.
All the arriving trains reached here late from three to eight hours while the departure of some trains was also delayed owing the poor visibility. Similarly, all flights were also delayed while two flights of Air India and Air Mantra were cancelled today, informed the official sources.
Due to poor visibility, particularly in the morning hours, the condition was no better on the roads where vehicles were seen moving at a snail’s pace with their headlights switched on.
A thick blanket of fog enveloped entire Jammu since the early morning disrupting normal life because of reduced visibility, which was 20 to 50 meters at several places across the region till noon.
The maximum temperature plunged to below normal and cold waves gripped the region. Today’s maximum temperature was recorded at 16.0 degree Celsius, three degrees below the normal. There was also a dip in the minimum temperature, which was recorded at 9 degree Celsius, informed the Metrology Department.
According to Dr M K Khushu, Chief Scientist and head of Agronomy Division of SKUAST-Jammu, the foggy weather is likely to continue for the next three days with further drop in mercury.
PTI adds from New Delhi:
Cold wave conditions claimed seven lives in North India even as thick fog disrupted normal life in the region.
In capital Delhi, the maximum temperature was recorded at 16.2 degrees celsius, five less than normal, while the minimum was 7 degrees celsius, one less than the ususal.
Seven persons died in the past 24 hours in different parts of Uttar Pradesh as cold wave conditions prevailed across the State.
While three deaths were reported from Barabanki district, two persons died in Muzaffarnagar and one each in Hardoi and Bijnor districts, official sources said here today.
According to the Met office, maximum temperature was below normal by 5 to 12 degrees celsius in many parts of the State.
Cold conditions prevailed over some parts of the State, it said, adding, the weather was mainly dry over the State.
Night temperatures rose in Meerut division and fell in Varanasi division. The temperature was above normal in Bareilly, below normal in Meerut, Kanpur and Varanasi and normal elsewhere.
The lowest minimum temperature in the State was 3.4 degrees celsius recorded at Fatehgarh.
A thick blanket of fog enveloped most parts of Punjab, Haryana and the Union territory of Chandigarh today disrupting normal life and hitting air, rail and road traffic.
MeT Department officials said that the fog was responsible for reduced visibility in the region and resultantly, several trains and flights were either cancelled or delayed by hours.
The condition was no better on the roads where motorists were forced to switch on their headlights even as vehicular traffic moved at a snail’s pace due to reduced visibility.
Besides, tripping of power and low pressure of water supply also added to the woes of the people.
The minimum temperatures in the region, however, hovered between four notches below normal to 2 degrees celsius above normal, the MeT office said.
Narnaul was the coldest place in the plains of Punjab and Haryana with a low of 3 degrees celsius, three notches below normal.
And, while Hisar shivered at a low of 3.4 degrees celsius, four notches below normal, the minimum temperature at Bhiwani was 5 degrees celsius.
Among other places, Amritsar registered a low of 6 degrees celsius, two notches above normal followed by 7.1 degrees celsius at Ludhiana and 7.5 degrees celsius in Chandigarh, which was one notch above the normal.
In Jalandhar, on the other hand, the minimum temperature was at 8.5 degrees celsius, up by about five notches from yesterday.
Ambala reported a low of 8.1 degrees celsius, one notch above normal, while Patiala, too, saw a similar movement of the mercury with a low of 7.9 degrees celsius.
The MeT office has forecast a further drop in minimum temperatures in the region and said that poor visibility due to foggy weather would continue over the next 24 hours.
In Himachal Pradesh, while Keylong and Kalpa in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnuar recorded minimum temperature at minus 7 degrees and minus 3 degrees, Manali, Solan, Bhuntar and Sundernagar reeled under piercing cold wave conditions with minimum temperatures hovering around freezing point.
State capital Shimla and Mandi registered a low of 5 degrees while Una recorded minimum temperature at 3.5 deg and Nahan was colder with a low of 6.8 deg, 4 deg below normal.
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