Despite sun coming out brightly on Friday afternoon, Punjab and Haryana 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.
Narnaul was the coldest place in both states, recording minimum temperature of one degrees Celsius, four notches below normal, an MeT department report stated.
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, up to three degrees below normal. 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. A day before, maximum temperatures had dropped by up to 10 notches below normal and hovered around 10 to 11 degrees Celsius in most parts of Punjab and Haryana, an MeT official said. The MeT department in its forecast said, dry weather conditions are likely to prevail during next 24 hours in Punjab and Haryana while dense to very dense fog was likely to occur at some places in both States.
Even as there is chill in the plains, the weather is pleasant in the hills of Himachal Pradesh with the sun regularly shining these days.
The weather in hill destinations of Shimla, Kasauli, Chail, Kufri, Narkanda, Dharamsala, Palampur and Manali is ‘warmer’ and perfect for a break from the biting chill of the plains where the sun has largely been fogged out.