Cold wave continues in north India, fog disrupts rail, road traffic

Cold weather continued to grip parts of north India on Sunday and a blanket of fog enveloped several areas of the region affecting road and rail traffic.

Delhiites experienced a cold yet pleasant New Year as the day began with a sunny morning and got chilly by the evening with the minimum temperature settling at 9.2 degrees Celsius.

According to a Met department official, the maximum temperature settled at 21 degrees Celsius.

Humidity level was recorded at 100%, the weatherman said.

Kashmir continued to witness dry weather and sub-zero night temperature, even as there was some respite from the cold wave conditions in the Ladakh region where the mercury went up by several degrees.

The night temperature in Leh settled at a low of minus 7 degrees Celsius, an official of the meteorological department said.

He said Srinagar recorded a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius. In Himachal Pradesh, mild snowfall greeted high altitude tribal areas, mountain passes and key tourist resorts of Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda, even as a “White New Year” eluded Shimla.

Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Pangi, Bharmaur, Rohtang, Kunzam, Saach and Chansel passes received mild snowfall, causing a sharp fall in day temperatures. Fog reduced visibility at many places in Punjab and Haryana where the minimum temperature continued to hover a few notches above normal.

Chandigarh recorded a further increase in its minimum since Saturday to settle at 9.2 degrees Celsius, the Met Department report said here.

In Haryana, Ambala recorded a low of 10.1 degrees Celsius.

Karnal recorded a minimum of 8.5 degrees Celsius.