NEW DELHI:
Most areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh received snowfall and rains today forcing closure of some major road links even as temperatures rose in other parts of north India.
In the national capital, people got some relief from the cold wave conditions with the minimum temperature settling at 13.6 degrees Celsius, which was five notches above normal.
The maximum temperature was recorded at 23.1 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal. The humidity levels in the city oscillated between 65-78 per cent.
In Jammu and Kashmir, intermittent snowfall continued in the Valley for the third day even as the local MeT Department warned of heavy to very heavy snowfall in some areas.
Owing to snowfall at most places, the authorities suspended traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway – the only all weather road link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.
The snowfall also led to snapping of electricity in some areas of the Valley. Reports of electricity supply being snapped during the night were received from many areas of Srinagar, Anantnag and Ganderbal districts.
The cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir also experienced overnight snowfall but that failed to dampen the spirit of pilgrims who came from various parts of the country to pay their obeisance at the shrine.
Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K, recorded 1.7 cm of fresh snow during the night. The mercury in the city settled at a low of 0.6 degree Celsius, up by over a degree from yesterday’s minus 1.0 degree Celsius.
Kargil in Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place in the state as the night temperature settled at a low of minus 13.5 degrees Celsius, down by two degrees from the previous night’s minus 11.4 degrees Celsius. (AGENCIES)