Cold conditions persist in Raj; fog affects train services

Dense fog affected rail and road services in Rajasthan even as mercury plummeted sharply at several places in the state.
Due to dense fog, 35 trains under the North-Western Railway were running late from 30 minutes to 9 hours, a NWR official said.
One train on Sriganganagar-Rishikesh was canceled while two other trains were partially canceled on Delhi Sarai-Bikaner routes, the official said.
Jammu Tawai-Ajmer train running late by 9:10 hrs, followed by Rishikesh-Sriganganagar by 9 hrs and three others trains - Gorakhpur-Hisar, New Tansukhia-Lalgarh, and Hawara- Bikaner/Jodhpur are running behind schedule by over four hours.
Meanwhile, Churu on the plains recorded the lowest temperature in the state as the Mercury dipped to 2 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, a MeT department report said.

Mercury dropped sharply at most places in the state by one to 6 degrees Celsius, reviving cold wave conditions, it said.

People on plains experienced intense cold wave conditions in Churu, Sikar, Pilani, and Udaipur districts where minimum temperatures were recorded below 4.5 degrees Celsius.
Dense fog enveloped Jaipur as it recorded a minimum temperature at 6.6 degrees Celsius, about two degree less than previous night.
Elsewhere, the minimum temperature varied between 7 and 10.5 degrees Celsius.
Fresh cold winds approaching from north India would further cause Mercury to dip at some places in western districts of Rajasthan in next 24 hours, a forecast said.