North in grip of cold wave; 25 trains cancelled due to fog

Cold conditions intensified across north India today claiming one life in Rajasthan while dense fog engulfing the region forced cancellation of 25 trains.
Delhiites woke up to a chilly morning with the season's lowest at 6 degrees Celsius, a notch below the average.
The maximum temperature was recorded at 19 degrees Celsius, also a notch below the normal, said a Met department official.
Foggy conditions were witnessed which led to the cancellation of 25 trains while 30 were delayed and 13 rescheduled.
Flight operations were also affected due to bad weather, however no flights were cancelled or diverted.
The visibility was recorded at 200 metres at 5.30 AM which improved to 400 metres at 8.30 AM. It further improved to 1500 meters as the day progressed.

The humidity in air oscillated between 97 and 76 per cent.

In Jammu and Kashmir, cold wave conditions remained unabated as the night temperature across Kashmir division continued to stay below the freezing point.
Leh in frontier Ladakh region, was the coldest recorded place in the state with minus 13.0 degrees Celsius.
Neighbouring Kargil town was the second coldest recorded place with a low of minus 12.0 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar witnessed a drop of one degree to settle at minus 4. 2 degrees Celsius.
Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius.

Famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, a star attraction for tourists, recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius, the Spokesperson said.
Night temperature also dropped slightly in Qazigund, Kokernag and Kupwara towns.
Cold conditions also prevailed in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan with Amritsar at 1.9 degree Celsius being the coldest place.
Srinagar recorded nine cm of snowfall since yesterday,
while the minimum temperature dropped to minus 2.5 degrees Celsius from the previous night's minus 1.9 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Leh in the frontier region of Ladakh was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 13.1 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 13.7 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund witnessed around 1.5 feet of fresh snowfall since yesterday and the town registered a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, he said.
Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, received 19 cm snowfall while the minimum temperature was minus 4 degrees Celsius, an increase of eight degrees from the previous night's minus 12 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, recorded a low of minus 9 degrees Celsius, against minus 10.2 degrees Celsius yesterday. It witnessed five cm of snowfall.
The MeT official said many other places in the high altitude areas of Kashmir Valley experienced snowfall between two to five feet over the last two days.

Normal life remained affected in many parts of Rajasthan where Sriganganagar was recorded as the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 0.2 degrees Celsius.
There was no respite from biting cold at Churu, Alwar, Sikar and Pilani where the night temperatures were recorded at 1.5, 1.8, 2 and 4.3 degrees Celsius respectively.
Punjab and Haryana remain under the cold grip, with Hisar shivering at 0.7 degrees Celsius, even as dense fog in the two states threw normal life out of gear, adversely affecting rail, road and air traffic.
The minimum temperature at Hisar in Haryana was recorded at 0.7 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal, a MeT Department official said here.

Among other places in Haryana which shivered under severe cold included Karnal, where the minimum dropped to 2 degrees Celsius, down five notches against normal, while Narnaul registered a low of 3.5 degrees Celsius, down two notches.
Amritsar in Punjab also shivered at 4.8 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana too recorded an identical temperature.
However, the maximum temperature yesterday dropped considerably as the icy cold winds swept the region, settling in the range of 11-15 degrees Celsius.
In Bihar, the mercury rose marginally, abating cold conditions. The state capital registered a minimum temperature of 10.1 degrees Celsius against 9.4 degrees Celsius yesterday.

Gaya recorded the minimum temperature of 9.6 degrees, while its maximum was 25.1 degree Celsius, the MeT department said.