North faces cold, fog:JK pipelines freeze, 78 trains cancelled

Cold weather and foggy conditions continued in North India today which resulted in freezing of water bodies and pipelines in parts of Jammu and Kashmir and forced railways to order 78 trains off track till January 15.
The national capital experienced its coldest day of the season so far with the mercury dipping to 6.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below average.
"The minimum temperature at Safdarjung observatory, the official for the national capital, was down from yesterday's low of 7.2 degrees Celsius," a MeT official said.
Meanwhile, Railways have decided to cancel 78 trains till January 15 in view of dense fog in many parts of north India reducing visibility.

Sealdha Express, North East Express, Begumpura Express, Lucknow Double-Decker Express, Gorakhpur Weekly Express, Jaipur-Chandigarh Express and Mau Express are among 78 trains which will remain cancelled till January 15, said a senior Railway Ministry official.
Also about 34 Delhi-bound trains are running late by several hours today due to bad weather.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Leh in Ladakh region recorded the coldest night of the season as the mercury settled nearly 14 degrees below zero freezing water supply lines and several water bodies in many areas of the Valley.
Leh registered the minimum temperature of minus 13.8 degrees Celsius, a drop of nearly two degrees from the previous night's, a MET department official there said.

He said this is the lowest night temperature the town has experienced so far this winter and Leh was the coldest recorded place in the state.
In Himachal Pradesh, intense cold wave sweeping the hills and valleys continued unabated as mercury hovered around freezingpoint at many places. Minimumtemperatures high altitude tribal areas stayed between minus 8 and minus 15 degrees Celsius.
Cold wave gripped Punjab and Haryana with minimum temperatures settling up to three notches below normal in Narnaul (3.2 degrees Celsius), even as dense fog disrupted flights and delayed trains by hours.
Bihar witnessed a sunny day for the third consecutive day with the state's MeT office saying the trend is expected to continue tomorrow as well.

"It was a sunny day in four major cities of the state and people may expect yet another sunny day tomorrow in four major cities of Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea with fog and mist in the morning," it said.
In Odisha, cold wave conditions intensified with the mercury plummeting to 4.6 degrees Celsius in Phulbani in Kandhamal district, making it the coldest place in the state. Cold wave conditions are likely to continue over some parts of interior Odisha, officials said.
Reports of fish and birds being found dead due to intense cold were received from different parts, particularly from the high-altitude areas.