JOIN USPeople across some parts of North India got respite from the cold wave on New Year’s Eve with the temperature rising at several places. Thick fog continued to disrupt air and road traffic.
New Delhi saw a rise of four degrees from Tuesday’s temperature with the minimum settling at 8.6 degrees Celsius. While flight operations at Indira Gandhi International airport went relatively smooth, 103 trains were affected in the region due to moderate fog.
In Uttar Pradesh, fog shadowed most place and the effects of bitter cold were felt at isolated places in the east. Lucknow, too, shivered at 3.6 degrees Celsius, while a 40-year-old man died of the cold at Muzaffarnagar.
There was no notable change, however, in Himachal Pradesh, where weather remained dry and wintry conditions prevailed.
High-altitude tribal areas and mountain passes reeled under arctic conditions with mercury staying 10 to 20 degrees below freezing point.
Among Punjab and Haryana, where the cold and fog stayed more or less the same from the previous day, Amritsar remained the coldest place recording a minimum temperature of 1.6 degrees. Overcast conditions and fog gave residents of Kashmir reprieve from the cold wave as the night temperatures went up by around two degrees at most places, even as cold and dry weather conditions continued.
A MeT department official said the minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 2.0 degrees Celsius, nearly two degrees higher than the previous night’s 3.8. Leh town, which has remained the coldest part in the state, settled at minus 14.4 degrees Celsius, almost same as the previous night’s 14.3 degrees. Cold weather conditions continue unabated in Rajasthan, with Mount Abu recording the lowest temperature of minus 0.6 in the state.
Dense fog continues to affect the movement of trains and buses in the state. Twelve trains were running late due to foggy conditions. Jaipur city came to stand still on Wednesday morning as a thick blanket of fog engulfed the city till 10 am. The last day of the year was marked with low attendance even in government offices due to extreme cold.