New Delhi, December 27: The cold wave sweeping the northern region intensified today as minimum temperatures dropped by up to six degrees in Punjab and Haryana and the mercury stayed below zero in the upper reaches.
Amritsar was the coldest in the plains at a near freezing 0.2 degree celsius, four marks below normal, followed closely by Rohtak in Haryana at 0.3 degrees, the Met office said. Ambala also had a cold night at 1.3 degrees, six notches below normal.
Ludhiana and Patiala experienced biting cold with both places recording respective minimums of 4 degrees and 4.2 degrees, down by three marks each.
Dense fog also engulfed many parts in the region this morning, affecting normal life as visibility dropped considerably at Ambala, Kurukshetra, Bathinda, Gurdaspur and Patiala among others.
The winter chill also deepened further in Rajasthan, where the hill station of Mount Abu was the coldest at 0.
–Agencies