Most parts of North India today reeled under piercing cold with Delhi recording the season's lowest temperature at 4.2 degrees Celsius, even as foggy conditions disrupted road, rail and air services.
In the national capital, the mercury dipped to 4.2 degrees Celsius, nearly three notches less than yesterday, even as a thick blanket of fog severely hit flight and train operations, besides affecting vehicular movement.
Foggy conditions led to cancellation of 35 trains, including those which were announced earlier to remain cancelled due to the fog and delaying 14 others.
As many as 30 arriving flights and four departing from the IGI Airport were delayed, airport officials said. However, no flights were cancelled.
Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official figure for Delhi, recorded 4.2 degrees Celsius which was three notches below normal. In Lodhi Road, the minimum temperature plunged to 3.3 degrees Celsius, whereas the weather stations at Ayanagar, Palam and Ridge recorded 3.5, 4.5 and 5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 17.7 degrees Celsius, said a MeT official said.
Jammu and Kashmir too continued to reel under piercing cold wave owing to the dry weather with the mercury in Kargil slipping to minus 16.4 degrees Celsius though a bright winter sun shone in the Valley.
The minimum in Srinagar dropped further to minus 5.3 degrees Celsius, a degree down compared to the previous night's minus 4.3 degrees Celsius.
Kargil in Ladakh region was the coldest in the state with the season's low of minus 16.4 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night. The nearby Leh town also shivered at minus 16.2 degrees Celsius.
There was, however, slight relief in the night temperatures in Kokernag, Pahalgam and Gulmarg.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 5. 5 degrees Celsius. The tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 6.9 degrees Celsius against yesterday's minus 7.3 degrees Celsius.
The mercury in Kokernag settled at a low of minus 2.1 degrees Celsius against the previous night's minus 2.4 degrees Celsius.
Kashmir is in the midst of the 40-day-long harshest phase of winter, which began on December 21 and will continue till the end of this month. Known as Chilai-Kalan in local parlance, the chances of frequent snowfall are high.
Meanwhile, the piercing cold wave sweeping the hills and
valleys of Himachal Pradesh continued unabated as the mercury hovered around the freezing point in most places.
The high altitude tribal areas groaned under biting cold wave conditions with minimum temperatures staying 12 to 20 degrees below the freezing point while Keylong, Manali and Kalpa recorded a low of minus 10.3, minus 3.2 and minus 1.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Solan, Bhuntar, Palampur and Sundernagar shivered at minus 0.8, minus 0.6, 0.2 degree and 0.3 degree Celsius, respectively, while Shimla, Una, Nahan and Dharamsala recorded minimum temperatures at 1.7, 3.7, 4.7 and 5.2 degrees Celsius.
Day temperatures rose marginally and Bhuntar was the hottest during the day with a maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius while Sundernagar and Solan recorded a high of 19.0 and 17.6, followed by Nahan 14.5, Shimla 13.8, Una 13.2, Dharamsala 12.2, Kalpa12.0 and Manali 11.8 degrees Celsius.
The MeT office in Shimla has predicted dry weather in the region over the next five days, adding to the anxiety of the farmers and apple growers, eagerly waiting for rain.
Rabi crops and apple crop, the mainstay of economy of mid and higher hills of the state would suffer huge damage in case the arrival of rain is delayed further, say farm experts.
Punjab and Haryana also remained under the grip of severe cold conditions while dense fog affected normal life in most parts of the two states.
With minimum temperatures dropping several notches below normal, the foggy weather disrupted air, rail and road traffic in Punjab and Haryana.
Narnaul was the coldest place in both states, recording a minimum temperature of one degree Celsius, four notches below normal.
Karnal shivered at 2.2 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, while the minimum temperature in Ambala and Hisar was 5.4 degrees Celsius and 3.8 degrees Celsius respectively.
In Punjab, Amritsar experienced cold weather at 5.2 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab, and Patiala recorded minimum at 4.2 degrees Celsius and 5.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The biting cold conditions in Union Territory of Chandigarh were recorded at 5.2 degrees Celsius.
