Srinagar, January 16: Increase in night temperature in most parts of north India gave respite to people from biting cold though in some places in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh the mercury remained at sub-zero even as a thick layer of fog affected over a dozen flights in the national capital.
The current spell of cold wave has so far claimed 366 lives, with Uttar Pradesh alone accounting for 337 deaths.
The Kashmir valley and Ladakh region reeled under intense cold though people in Jammu got some relief as night temperature rose by a few notches.
Jammu recorded a low of 4.3 degress Celcuis, nearly four degrees below normal, against 3.8 deg C on Thursday.
However, Srinagar recorded minus 3.6 deg C on Friday the same as on Thursday.
Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir continued to be the coldest place with a low of minus 5.3 deg C, while Kupwara recorded minus 3 deg C and Kokernag minus 1.7 deg C. Ladakh region faced intense cold at minus 16.6 deg C.
In the absence of rain or snow, mercury rose sharply in Shimla from 1.1 deg C on Thursday to 4.5 deg C, though higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh continued to reel under sub-zero temperature.
Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 11.5 deg C while it was minus 4 deg C in Kapla in Kinnaur district.
Cold winds swept Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh with Amritsar being the coldest place in the region with a low of 1.4 deg C. In Chandigarh, mercury settled at 5.5 deg C.
Both Ambala and Karnal in Haryana had a low of 5.6 deg C.
Cold wave abated in Rajasthan with minimum temperature rising by 2 to 4 deg C, though Mount Abu remained the coldest place in the state at 2.6 deg C on Thursday night.
Sriganganagar recorded a minimum of 3 deg C followed by Churu, Chittorgarh, Pilani – all at 4 deg C and Udaipur at 5 deg C. Jaipur had a low of 6.4 deg C, about 3 degrees more than Thursday night.
Cold conditions continued in Uttarakhand despite sun shine, with Dehradun recording the minimum temperature of 6.2 deg C.
In the national capital, dense fog and icy winds gave no respite to the people reeling under severe cold conditions. The minimum was 7.7 deg C, slightly lower than Thursday.
A thick layer of fog, which descended on the city in the wee hours, reduced visibility to less than 200 metres affecting the schedules of over a dozen flights at the IGI airport.
While a Jetlite flight to Mumbai was cancelled, 14 other flights were delayed by up to three hours because of dense fog.
—Agencies