Coldest day for Dehradun in 68 yrs, chill claims 4 more lives

Doonites woke up to a sunny but windy morning with a temperature of -0.5 degrees Celsius, coldest of the season in many years, the MeT office said.

"Today was the coldest winter day in Dehradun in 68 years. The city recorded a minimum of -1.1 degrees Celsius on January 11, 1945," MeT office Director Anand Sharma said here.

Even as the fog enveloping the plains showed signs of thinning, there was no respite from the cold and icy northwesterly winds sweeping the entire state.

Four persons died of cold in Kumaon and Garhwal divisions of the state last night.

While three cold related casualties were reported from Kumaon division, one death was reported from Kotdwar in Garhwal division, official sources said.

Four women had died of cold in the rural areas surrounding Roorkee in Haridwar district on Sunday night.

Though fog seemed to have loosened its grip over Haridwar and Udhamsigh Nagar districts, where a feeble sun appeared on the horizon, there was no respite from cold with the minimum recorded at 2. 1 deg C in both these areas.

Mussoorie touched the freezing point whereas Tehri and Mukteshwar in the higher reaches recorded a minimum of -1.0 and -1.6 degrees Celsius respectively.

Similar weather conditions are predicted for the next few days with a thin layer of frost likely to descend on the mountains, the MeT office said.