<p>Mercury dipped further in most parts of North India and a blanket of fog restricted visibility to a few metres in the entire region on Friday, hitting road and rail traffic.<br /><br /></p>.<p>It was close to freezing point in most parts of Himachal Pradesh, while capital Shimla recorded a low of 0.9 degree Celsius.<br /><br />The tourist resort of Manali recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5 degree Celsius while the temperature slided to minus 1.5 degrees in Una in Shivalik foot hills, six degrees below normal.<br /><br />The high altitude tribal areas had another spell of moderate snowfall while Theog, Fagu and Kufri had mild snowfall, causing further drop in mercury.<br /><br />Water pipes froze and burst at many places and thick ground frost occurred in mid and higher hills while dense fog engulfed the lower hills disrupting vehicular traffic during morning hours.<br /><br />The mercury dropped to 6.4 degree Celsius in Delhi accompanied by fog. The minimum temperature, that was recorded at 8:30 am, was two notches below the season’s average, a weather official said.<br /><br />In Kashmir Valley, residents braced up for Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day period of the harshest winter in the region as the mercury dipped by several degrees at places in this part of Jammu and Kashmir.<br /><br />Chillai-Kalan begins from December 21, and during this period the weather in Kashmir Valley continues to remain dry and cold with minimum temperatures hovering below the freezing point.<br /><br />Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of minus 3.2 degree Celsius. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 10.4 degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>Mercury dipped further in most parts of North India and a blanket of fog restricted visibility to a few metres in the entire region on Friday, hitting road and rail traffic.<br /><br /></p>.<p>It was close to freezing point in most parts of Himachal Pradesh, while capital Shimla recorded a low of 0.9 degree Celsius.<br /><br />The tourist resort of Manali recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5 degree Celsius while the temperature slided to minus 1.5 degrees in Una in Shivalik foot hills, six degrees below normal.<br /><br />The high altitude tribal areas had another spell of moderate snowfall while Theog, Fagu and Kufri had mild snowfall, causing further drop in mercury.<br /><br />Water pipes froze and burst at many places and thick ground frost occurred in mid and higher hills while dense fog engulfed the lower hills disrupting vehicular traffic during morning hours.<br /><br />The mercury dropped to 6.4 degree Celsius in Delhi accompanied by fog. The minimum temperature, that was recorded at 8:30 am, was two notches below the season’s average, a weather official said.<br /><br />In Kashmir Valley, residents braced up for Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day period of the harshest winter in the region as the mercury dipped by several degrees at places in this part of Jammu and Kashmir.<br /><br />Chillai-Kalan begins from December 21, and during this period the weather in Kashmir Valley continues to remain dry and cold with minimum temperatures hovering below the freezing point.<br /><br />Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of minus 3.2 degree Celsius. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 10.4 degrees Celsius.</p>