Dense fog crippled normal life in most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Saturday affecting air, rail and road traffic with mercury plunging up to six degrees Celsius below normal in the region.
Heavy fog reduced visibility to just 500 metres in the region, adversely affecting several trains which were running behind schedule and some flights being cancelled. The motorists moved at a snail’s pace on the roads in view of low visibility. The minimum temperature in most parts of Punjab and Haryana hovered between one degree Celsius above normal to six notches below normal. Narnaul continued to be the coldest place in the plains of Punjab and Haryana with a low of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal. Adampur in Punjab braved a low of 0.6 degrees Celsius followed by 1.4 degrees Celsius at Amritsar, two notches below normal.
Among other places, ludhiana reeled under a low of three degrees Celsius, three notches below normal followed by 4.7 degrees Celsius at Hisar. While Chandigarh settled at a low of 5.2 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature at Patiala was 5.5 degrees Celsius, one notch below normal. The hills of Himachal Pradesh saw a slight rise in the temperatures due to prevailing dry weather, but the Met Office forecast rain and more snowfall next week. “There are chances of more rainfall and snowfall in the state from Jan 8 to 9,” a meteorological office statement said.
It said the western disturbances — storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - would start in the region from Jan 7. Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie, located in mid-hills, may witness snowfall, it added. Shimla recorded the minimum temperature at 4.1, while it was minus 3.6 degrees Kalpa in Kinnaur district, minus 1.8 degrees in Manali and 5.4 degrees at Dharamsala.