Cold claims 8 more lives in UP

There was some respite from bone-chilling cold in Delhi as the day temperature rose by over 4 degrees, though an icy wind blowing at nine km per hour created trouble for citizens in the morning hours. Schools are closed till January 13 and most of the offices witness less than normal attendance. Though, no accurate data has been announced by the authorities, the police officials reported at least 10 deaths in the capital during the last fortnight. 

The minimum temperature fell to 4.7 deg C, two points below normal, but as the day progressed, the maximum rose to 15.6 deg C, five notches below normal. Yesterday was the coldest day in the past five years with the maximum sliding to 11 degrees Celsius, 10 degrees below normal, and minimum to 5 degrees Celsius.

There was also no dense fog and airport functioned without any delays or problems, the regular feature for the past three days. However, fog in other parts of north India had its ripple effect in the national capital as railways cancelled seven trains from here and rescheduled two of them, while more than 65 trains ran late.

Cold wave claimed two lives each in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi, Kannauj and Siddharth Nagar districts, while one death was reported from Gonda and Fatehpur, taking the statewide toll to 89 this season.

Etawah and Orai at 2 degrees Celsius were the coldest places in the state.
Lucknow recorded a low of 5 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, while it was minimum 4 degrees Celsius in Varanasi and 4.7 degrees Celsius in Kanpur.

The high altitude of Himachal Pradesh shivered under sub-zero temperature as the mercury plummeted to a low of -15.4 degrees Celsius in Keylong and -5 degrees Celsius in Kalpa in Kinnaur district.

The cold wave intensified in Jammu and Kashmir with Leh recording a low of -20.2 degrees Celsius as against -13 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

The nearby Kargil town recorded -15.8 deg Celsius. The temperature settled at a low of -2.2 deg C in Srinagar.

Intense cold conditions threw normal life out of gear in Punjab and Haryana where the minimum temperature dipped by four degrees below normal.