Severe cold wave swept across most parts of Punjab and Haryana, affecting normal life. Due to fog, road, rail and air traffic were disrupted again.
Minimum temperatures dipped remarkably across the two States and the Union Territory of Chandigarh that remained engulfed in fog. Most parts in both the States and capital city of Chandigarh continued to reel under piercing cold wave with a thick blanket of fog affecting visibility.Chandigarh recorded a maximum of 11 degrees C, ten notches below normal level and minimum at 5.1 degrees Celsius.
Maximum temperature in Ambala was recorded at 13.4 degrees Celsius, followed by Hisar (15.5), Amritsar (13.4), ludhiana (15) and Patiala (15.6). Narnaul in Haryana was coldest and recorded Mercury at 2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, the MeT Department said here.Minimum temperatures in Amritsar in Punjab settled at 4.8 degrees C. ludhiana and Patiala recorded near similar minimum temperatures at 6.4 degrees C and 6.7 degrees C.
Karnal and Ambala in Haryana also experienced the chill registering below normal lows of 6 deg C and 5.9 deg C, respectively. Hisar also had a cold night at 5.1 degrees C.The weather department said thick fog, which adversely affected normal movement of road, rail and air traffic for the past several days, prevailed at most places in the two states.In the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, large parts of the State reeled under severe cold with the minimum temperature remaining below freezing point in many areas.
Shimla witnessed a slight decline in night temperature as the minimum temperature was 3 degrees Celsius, a slight fall from Thursday’s 3.7 degrees.Keylong in lahaul-Spiti district and Kalpa in Kinnaur district shivered at minus 9 degrees and minus 4.4 degrees respectively. Mercury in the picturesque tourist resort of Manali slipped to minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, while it was 4.6 degrees in Dharamsala and 2.2 degrees in Dalhousie in Chamba district.A day earlier these towns recorded a low of minus 3 degrees, 5.2 degrees and 4.6 degrees Celsius respectively. The Met office said there will be no snow or rain across the state till December 31.