Mercury drops in North; 52 trains cancelled due to fog

Cold conditions intensified in north India, except the national capital, with Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir recording the lowest minimum of the season at minus 15.2 degrees Celsius, while fog forced cancellation of 52 trains and delayed 30 others.
Delhiites experienced a warm sunny day with the maximum temperature settling at 25.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal.
The minimum temperature was recoded at 8.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average, said a MeT department official.
Foggy conditions were witnessed in the morning and the visibility was recorded 400 metres at 5.30 AM. It increased to 600 meters and subsequently to 2500 metres by afternoon.

While no flight operations were affected, 30 Delhi-bound trains were delayed and 52 were cancelled due to fog.
The humidity levels oscillated between 40 and 97 per cent.

Cold conditions prevailed in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh with minimum temperatures hovering below normal levels.
In Jammu and Kashmir, mercury in Kargil town of Ladakh region plunged to the season's low of minus 15.2 degrees Celsius, even as there was some improvement in the weather at some other places in the state.
The nearby Leh town also shivered at a low of minus 14 degrees Celsius, an official said, adding however, the mercury increased slightly there from the previous night's minus 14.7 degrees Celsius.

The mercury in Srinagar settled at minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said the minimum temperature also increased in the famous hill-resort of Pahalgam as it settled minus 5.8 degrees Celsius against previous night's low of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius.
The popular ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 7.2 degrees Celsius, an increase of two notches from the previous night's minus 9.2 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, registered the minimum temperature of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, the mercury in Kokernag settled at minus 1.9 degree Celsius, the official said.
Cold conditions prevailed in Punjab and Haryana with

minimum temperatures hovering below normal level in various parts of both states.
Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab, turned out to be the coldest place in both states as it recorded a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal, an MeT department report said here.
Chandigarh braved cold weather at 6.8 degrees Celsius, it stated.
Amritsar and Patiala recorded a low of 6.7 deg Celsius and 5.4 degrees Celsius respectively.
While in Haryana, the minimum temperature in Hisar and Karnal settled at 4.5 degrees Celsius and 5 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.
Ambala recorded a low of 7.5 degrees Celsius while in Narnaul the minimum temperature was 4.7 degrees Celsius respectively.

In neighbouring Rajasthan, mercury dipped further, with Mount Abu at 4.6 deg on hills, and Sikar at 5.8 degrees Celsius in plains were the coldest places in the state.
The north easterly cold winds led to a dip in the mercury by one to three degrees at most places in the state in last 24 hours, a MeT official said.
While, Churu recorded minimum of 6.3 degree C, Tonk 7.2, Sriganganagar 7.6, Udaipur 8, Pilani 8.5, and Sawaimadhopur 8.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Cold conditions further intensified in Jaipur last night as mercury plummeted to 9 degree C, a notch less than the previous night.

The minimum temperature ranged between 9 and 12.3 degrees at other places in the state.
Most parts of Himachal Pradesh too continued to reel under piercing cold conditions as minimum temperatures hovered close to freezing point across the state.
Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest in the region, with minimum temperature at minus 9.3 degree celsius, while Manali and Kalparecorded a low of minus 1.8 degree and minus 0.6 degree celsius respectively.
The mercury stayed close to freezing point with Bhuntar recording maximum temperature at 1.0 degree Celsius, followed by Solan and Sundernagar 1.5 degrees, Palampur 3.0 degrees, Una 3.2 degree, Dharamsala 5.8 degree and Nahan 7.9 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the mercury remained at 12 to 19 degree below freezing point in high altitude tribal areas freezing all natural sources of water including lakes, springs, rivulets and tributaries of major rivers and a long stretch of Chandrabhaga river in tribal Spiti valley, for over three weeks, which has resulted in sharp reduction in discharge of water in snowfed rivers.