New Delhi: North India today shivered under biting cold as the mercury dipped in several places including Delhi where it settled at 2.6 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the past five year, with dense fog adding to the woes by paralysing road, rail and air traffic.
At Delhi airport, as many as 73 flights were delayed, 17 diverted and six cancelled due to a thick blanket of fog in morning, while more than 80 trains were running late in the northern region, officials said.
The national capital, recorded the lowest temperature in the past five years with the mercury dipping to 2.6 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal. The maximum stood at 18.3degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.
“This is the lowest temperature recorded in Delhi in the past five years. It could be the lowest in the past decade too but records for the same aren't immediately available,” a MeT official said, adding Delhi's all time low of 1.1 degrees was recorded on 26 December, 1945.
According to the MeT department, respite from the winter chill is unlikely tomorrow as the minimum is predicted to stay around 3 degrees Celsius in Delhi.
Meanwhile, intense cold wave, coupled with dense fog, disrupted normal life in most parts of Uttar Pradesh. Churk in eastern region of the state was the coldest place with a low of 0.5 degree Celsius.
The UP government said that there was no fresh death reported in the state due to cold since Saturday. “There is no confirmation regarding death due to cold,” UP Principal Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said.
According to the Lucknow MeT office, night temperatures fell appreciably in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Faizabad and Allahabad divisions. In Mathura, minimum temperature was recorded at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Jammu and Kashmir too continued to reel under intense cold with the mercury in the state's summer capital Srinagar settling at minus 4.7 degrees Celsius and Leh recording the season's coldest night so far.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, appreciated a little to settle at minus 4.7 degrees Celsius. Severe cold has led to the freezing of parts of many water bodies including the famous Dal Lake located in the heart of the city.
Srinagar had witnessed the lowest temperature of this season the previous night with the mercury plunging to minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.
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