Considering the continued spell of severe cold and foggy conditions, the Chandigarh administration on Monday extended school holidays for one more week for students up to Class 5. As per the UT Chandigarh Education Department notification, which applies to all government, government-aided and recognised private schools, the schools may organise online classes for these students.

There will be no classes in physical mode upto Class V on January 23, 24 and 25. As for students in Class 6 and above, the department said schools can choose whether or not to call back children for classroom learning, but they should take appropriate precautions to ensure that no child suffers from exposure to cold weather during their commute. It also said the schools should not open before 9.30 am and must close before 4 pm.
 

Meanwhile,  Cold conditions continued unabated in Punjab and Haryana on Monday, with temperatures hovering below normal at several places. The Met office in Chandigarh said Bathinda in Punjab reeled from severe cold, recording a low of 4 degrees Celsius.

Gurdaspur also experienced a cold night, recording a minimum temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius. The night temperature in Faridkot was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius, followed by Ludhiana at 5.6 degrees and Patiala at 5.8 degrees.

Chandigarh reeled from the severe cold with the minimum temperature being recorded at 6.5 degrees Celsius. In Haryana, a cold wave swept several places, including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani and Narnaul.