Cold eases marginally in North, one death in UP

There was a slight reprieve from cold wave conditions in North as mercury soared in most parts of the region today due to a clear sky and a warm sun, even as a homeless person died due to the harsh weather in Uttar Pradesh.
Delhiites woke up to a relatively warmer morning today as the minimum temperature rose to 7.6 degree Celsius, one notch above the season's normal. It was hovering around five degrees from past few days.
The weatherman predicted partly cloudy sky for the day with maximum temperature reaching up to 22 degrees Celsius.
Shallow fog occurred in many of parts of the city with visibility around 600 meters at 5.30 am and 800 meters at 8.30 am, a Meteorological department official.

Most parts of UP reeled under cold wave and foggy conditions.
The administration in Lucknow yesterday directed to close all the schools till January 5 due to persisting cold wave.

Meanwhile, in west UP's Muzaffarnagar district, a 45-year-old man was found dead. The man, a beggar, was found dead last evening at Railway Road of the city and police said that he apparently died due to cold wave.
Respite from cold conditions for the residents in Kashmir continued for the second consecutive day today as the mercury went up further by several degrees.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.9 degree, an increase of over two degrees from the previous night's minus 3.2 degrees, a spokesman of the MET Department said.

He said Qazigund the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - recorded a low of minus 2.2 degrees as compared to the previous night s minus 4.0 degrees.
The tourist resort of Pahalgam which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 1.9 degrees Celsius an increase of nearly three degrees from minus 4.4 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The mercury in Leh, in the frontier Ladakh region, went up by over five notches from the previous night's minus 10.1 degrees to settle at minus 4.7 degrees.
Due to a fresh western disturbance from Pakistan and

Afghanistan, cold wave abated and mercury rose by one to five degrees at many places in the state in last 24 hours, an MeT report said.
The people of Jaipur heaved a sigh of relief with mercury rising to 8 degrees, about two notches more than it was yesterday, a MeT Department report said.
Due to fog in north eastern Rajasthan and adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, about 10 trains of North Western Railway were running late, a railway spokesman said.
In Punjab and Haryana cold wave to mar normal life.
Narnaul in Haryana recorded a low of 3.9 degrees Celsius and was the coldest place in the two states. Hisar also shivered at 5.5 degrees, one notch below normal.

Chandigarh experienced a cold night at 6.2 degrees.
In Punjab, the minimum temperature at Amritsar was 4.5 degrees while Patiala registered a low of 7.9 degrees, the MeT department said.