Fog adds to cold misery across North

Cold wave continued unabated in the northern region on Tuesday with fog enveloping most areas affecting normal life.

The cold has so far claimed 90 lives, mostly those of the elderly, in Uttar Pradesh.  

In the national capital, intense cold continued with the minimum temperature recorded at the season’s average of 6 degrees Celsius, slightly more than Monday’s 4.2 degrees, which was the lowest in past five years in Delhi. The maximum temperature registered at 16.3 degrees Celsius.  In Haryana, Narnaul recorded 2.5 degrees Celsius and Ludhiana in Punjab registered 3.1 degrees Celsius, making them the coldest places in the two states.

Rail and air services to and fro Chandigarh, which recorded a low of 5.8 degrees Celsius, were hit. Several trains including the morning Shatabdi Express from New Delhi was running behind schedule by 3.30 hours. Cold conditions prevailed in parts of Rajasthan where normal life was affected as flight operations and train services were hit due to dense fog. Phulbani, headquarters of Odisha’s Kandhamal district, on Tuesday recorded 3.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature in the state, an official said.

Cold wave accompanied by dense fog gripped Bihar, disrupted normal life. Patna registered a minimum temperature of 6.5 degrees Celsius while the maximum hovered around 17 degrees Celsius.