New Delhi: Dense fog on Saturday affected normal life in most parts of North India which continued to reel under cold weather conditions though the sun shone bright in Delhi where mercury settled a degree above the season’s normal.
In Delhi, the day started with foggy conditions which later gave way to a bright sun. The maximum here settled at 22.2 degrees Celsius, one notch above the normal, while the minimum was 4.6 degrees Celsius.
Fog in the morning disrupted rail services, leading to cancellation of 30 trains and delayed of 21 others. Flight operations, however, remained normal.
Visibility in the city was recorded 300 metres at 8.30 AM but improved to 1200 metres at 11.30 AM and above as the day progressed.
Humidity was high and oscillated between 50 and 100 percent.
Delhi had yesterday recorded the lowest temperature of the season with mercury dipping to 4.2 degrees Celsius.
Cold conditions prevailed in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury continued to settle below the freezing point owing to the dry weather even as dense fog disrupted air and rail traffic in Jammu.
A Jammu-bound flight was diverted to Amritsar whereas another delayed due to poor visibility, Officer on Special duty at Air Traffic Management, Jammu airport, RK Awasthi said.
Several trains coming to Jammu, too, were running late owing to the dense fog.
Srinagar registered a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 5.3 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in Kargil, in Ladakh region, went up nearly two notches from the previous night’s minimum of minus 16.4 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of minus 14.6 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
The mercury in the nearby Leh town settled at a low of minus 16.2 degrees Celsius, same as that of the previous night.
Punjab and Haryana also reeled under freezing cold conditions today with the mercury hovering well below normal level in most areas even as a thick cover of fog engulfed the region, affecting normal life.
The minimum temperature in most areas dropped to several notches below normal. Foggy weather prevailed in the region early today disrupting normal life and affecting air, rail and road traffic.
Cold wave swept the Union Territory of Chandigarh, where the minimum temperature settled at 3.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, the local MeT office said.
There was no relief from biting cold conditions even during the day for Chandigarh residents as icy cold winds restricted the maximum temperature to 13.7 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal.
In Haryana, Ambala recorded a minimum temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, while the day temperature in the town yesterday settled at 12.3 deg C.
Hisar recorded its minimum at 4.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal, followed by Naraul 3.4 degrees Celsius and Karnal 3 degrees Celsius.
Amritsar in Punjab reeled under severe chill with the city recording a low of 3.5 degrees Celsius. There was no relief for the residents of Ludhiana and Patiala, with both towns recording below normal minimum temperatures of 4.6 and 6.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
In Rajasthan, the minimum temperatures in most parts were recorded between 4 and 9 degrees Celsius barring Mt Abu, the sole hill station in the state, where the mercury settled at freezing point.
Dabok was coldest in the plains with a low of 4 degrees Celsius followed by Churu and Sriganganagar that recorded minimum of 4.4 and 5.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Ajmer and Barmer recorded minimum of 5.8, 6.4, 6.5, 7 and 8.5 degrees Celsius respectively.
—PTI