Punjab had to endure a frigid Monday with dense fog enveloping Amritsar disrupted rail and air traffic in the state.
NEW DELHI: Severe cold wave continued to wreak havoc across North India on Monday claiming 16 more lives in Uttar Pradesh alone, taking the death toll to 140. Most casualties were owing to cold-related deaths and accidents due to fog. Dense fog and icy winds were reported across UP hitting air, rail and road traffic. Visibility was 50 metres or less at 8.30am in Lucknow, Bahraich, Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Agra, Jhansi, Rae Bareli and Varanasi.
Five people were killed in Balrampur, four each in Pratapgarh and Jaunpur while Kasganj, Bahraich and Kanpur Dehat all reported one death. Air traffic took a hit in Lucknow and Varanasi with almost all flights delayed by two to six hours. Four flights were cancelled from Amausi airport while major trains like Lucknow Mail, Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Chandigarh Express are running late by up to six hours.
Churk in Sonbhadra district was the coldest place in UP with minimum temperature at 0.6 degree Celsius. Minimum temperatures in other places were between two to eight degrees. Met officials predicted similar conditions would prevail on Tuesday.
Jammu and Kashmir continued to grapple with intense cold with the mercury in Srinagar settling at minus 4.1 degrees Celsius. Kargil remained the coldest place in the state at minus 15.6. Night temperatures in the Valley and Ladakh region continued to remain several degrees below the freezing point.
Punjab had to endure a frigid Monday with dense fog enveloping Amritsar disrupted rail and air traffic in the state. Chandigarh meteorological centre said Amritsar recorded the coldest night of the season at 0 degree Celsius, three notches below normal. The maximum temperature was 11.2, seven degrees below the normal.
Three flights to Delhi were cancelled due to near zero visibility at Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport. Several philanthropists and NGOs set up langars to serve tea right through the day. Maximum temperature in Patiala was 16.2 with 3 being the minimum. Ludhiana reported a maximum of 14.1 and minimum of 4.1.
There was no respite for neighbouring Haryana as well with Narnaul recording a minimum of 1.5 degrees, four below the normal. In Karnal, the maximum temperature was 17.6, four degrees below normal and the minimum was 2.6, four degrees below normal.
Himachal Pradesh by contrast had a ‘pleasant’ Monday with Shimla recording a minimum of 3.1 and a maximum of 14.6, four degrees above normal.
Rajasthan also reeled under severe cold wave conditions with Fatehpur in Churu district recording a minimum temperature of minus 1.2 degree Celsius followed by Sriganganagar at 3.1, Udaipur 3.2, Pilani 4.4, Sikar 4.5, Kota 6.2, Ajmer 6.4, Jodhpur 7.7, Bikaner 7.8 and Jaisalmer 8.4.
“At least 12 early morning Jaipur-bound trains arrived late while the timings of at least six trains including Ajmer-Jammu Tawi express were re-scheduled,” said an official of the North Western Railways. Likewise, drivers of the Rajasthan State Roadways Corporation have been asked to maintain a speed of 30 km/hour due to mist and fog on the highways. The Jaipur met office said cold wave conditions are likely to intensify in the state in the coming days.
Bihar too was in the grips of freezing temperature. Dense fog reduced visibility to below 60 m at 5.30 am on Monday. The minimum temperature in Patna was 7.6 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal. Icy winds ensured that the maximum temperature did not rise above 16, six degrees below normal.
State met director A K Sen said that similar conditions are likely to prevail on Tuesday but some change is expected from Wednesday. “The chill will, however, continue for the next two days,” he added.
