Dense fog in north; 23 trains cancelled

Dense fog today enveloped the entire north India hitting rail, road and air traffic while three persons died in an accident in Uttar Pradesh due to poor visibility even as mercury continued to hover several notches above the normal.
In the national capital, dense fog resulted in cancellation of 23 trains and delay in schedule of 60 even as five flights were disrupted and at least three diverted as heavy fog led to low visibility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.
A thick blanket of fog enveloped many parts of the city affecting the visibility as it dropped to zero at 8.30 AM and increased to 1000 meters at 5.30 PM.

Overcast conditions also prevailed in Delhi, where the maximum tempreature was recorded at 21.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal while the minimum settled at 12.5 degrees, five notches above the season's average.
In Rajasthan, Sriganganagar remained the coldest, recording a minimum of 7.7 degrees Celsius followed by Sikar at 8 degrees. Fourteen trains were delayed due to fog in northern western region with trains running late up to 2 hours 55 minutes.
Most parts of Punjab and Haryana continued to register minimum temperatures above normal level with mist and shallow fog occurring at isolated places in the region.

Minimum temperatures hovered between one to five degrees Celsius above normal limits in parts of the two states with Amritsar continuing to remain the coldest place, registering a low of 3.8 degrees Celsius, which was a notch above normal.

There was fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of the Valley including Gulmarg which recorded 5 cm of snow, Pahalgam 4 cm and Kupwara 1.5 cm.
There are reports of fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of Shopian, including Peer Ki Gali on Mughal Road, Sonamarg, Amarnath Cave Shrine, Razdan Pass, Sadhna Top and Gurez.
The plain areas of the Valley, including Srinagar, witnessed intermittent rains with the city recording 2.7 mm of rainfall during the night.
The mercury continued to stay above zero degree Celsius in the city for the fifth consecutive day today, registering a minimum temperature of 1.8 degrees Celsius.

Gulmarg was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir with a low of minus 8.3 degrees Celsius.
(Reopens DEL 61)
All schools in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh will remain close till 11th January for 1st-8th standard due to intense cold conditions, District Magistrate Nidhi Kesarwani said.