Biting cold in Haryana & Punjab

Biting cold continued to sweep Haryana and Punjab on Sunday as minimum temperatures in many parts north India hover below the 10 degrees Celsius mark.

The minimum temperature in most parts of Kashmir rose marginally, bringing some respite from the shivering cold in the valley, an meteorological department official said.

In Delhi, the maximum temperature settled at seven notches below normal at 14.6 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was 7.4 degrees Celsius.

The temperature is likely to fall to 5 degrees Celsius by Thursday, an official said.

Churu in Rajasthan recorded a minimum temperature of 4.9 degrees Celsius, while it was 9 degrees Celsius in Jaipur, the Met department said.

Narnaul in Haryana shivered at 4.5 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, as cold continued to sweep Haryana and Punjab.

Fog reduced visibility in the morning at several places in the two states, the weather department said.

In Punjab, Ludhiana was the coldest place recording a low of 4.8 degrees Celsius, down two notches below normal.

Amritsar recorded a low of 7 degrees Celsius while Patiala's minimum settled at 7.4 degrees Celsius.

Chandigarh recorded an above-normal minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 1.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday night.

Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the coldest place in the valley with a minimum temperature of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius.

Ladakh continued to be gripped by intense cold as Leh recorded a low of minus 9.9 degrees Celsius and Dras in Kargil district recording minus 21.6 degrees Celsius, the official said.

In Ramban district of Jammu region, fresh snowfall in the tunnel area and multiple landslides between Ramsoo and Panthiyal forced closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Friday evening.

Jammu city recorded a minimum of 8.7 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees above the season's average.

The highway town of Banihal, which was reeling under sub-zero temperatures over the past couple of days following fresh snowfall, recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius, he said.

He said the snow-bound Bhaderwah town in Doda district also recorded a dip in the night temperature which settled at minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest recorded place in Jammu region.