Northern states reeled under a piercing cold wave today with the national capital and a few places in Jammu and Kashmir recording the lowest temperature for January in three years and mercury dipping below the freezing point at many areas in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Rail services were hit by poor visibility in the morning. Twenty-six trains were delayed, eight rescheduled and seven cancelled due to foggy weather. Air traffic, however, continued uninterrupted.
Icy winds swept the national capital that recorded a low of 3.4 degrees Celsius.
"Today's minimum of 3.4 degrees is the lowest for January in the last three years and it is also the season's lowest," Ravinder Bhishen, Director of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, told PTI.
Authorities in Gautam Budh Nagar ordered closure of all schools affiliated to CBSE, ICSC or UP Board from nursery to Class XII till January 15 due to the intense cold.
Tribal areas and upper hills in Himachal Pradesh quivered under biting conditions. Strong icy winds swept Shimla, where several places remained without power for the seventh day. However, water supply was partially restored.
Many places in Jammu and Kashmir gauged the season's lowest night temperature. The hill resort of Pahalgam recorded the lowest temperature in three years in January at minus 13.0 degrees Celsius.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir also recorded the season's lowest night temperature in four years at minus 13.5 degrees Celsius to be the coldest place in the Valley.
Kokernag had a low of minus 7.1 degrees Celsius and Qazigund minus 7.2 degrees Celsius while Kargil town also had the coldest night of the season at minus 15.6 degrees Celsius.
Narnaul in Haryana shivered at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, while Amritsar and Adampur in Punjab experienced bone-chilling cold conditions at 0.8 degrees Celsius and minus 0.1 degrees Celsius respectively.
Among other places in Haryana, Hisar and Karnal too were extremely cold, registering minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius and 2.6 degrees Celsius respectively. Ambala recorded a low of 5 degrees Celsius.
The residents in Union Territory of Chandigarh also reeled under piercing chill at a low of 3.7 degrees Celsius. Amritsar residents shivered with the low in the holy city settling at 0.8 degrees Celsius. Adampur was even colder at a low of minus 0.1 deg Celsius.
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