Intense cold, fog in north India; Kargil shivers at -16.6 deg

Parts of north India continued to reel under an intense cold wave with the mercury plummeting to minus 16.6 degrees Celsius in Kargil even as dense fog engulfed several regions including the national capital, disrupting train and flight services.
Kargil town in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir had recoreded a low of minus 14.6 degrees Celsius yesterday, an official said.
Jammu and Kashmir braces up for more cold as the state's Meteorological Department has said the prevalent dry weather in the Valley is likely to end, while predicting rain or snowfall for few days in the coming week.
Leh was relatively less cold today, registering a minimum of minus 15.8 degrees Celsius, a slight rise from previous night's low of minus 16.2 degrees Celsius.

There are chances of isolated rains in the Valley over two days from January 26, and possibility of scattered to widespread rainfall or snowfall over three days from January 28, the MeT official said.
He said there is a chance of snowfall in the region especially in the higher reaches of the Valley during this period particularly at the end of the month which would coincide with the culmination of Chillai-Kalan.

Chillai-Kalan, which began on December 21 and ends on January 31, is the period of winter when the chances of snowfall are usually most frequent and maximum.
In the national capital, while the mercury picked up a bit from yesterday's low of 4.6 degrees Celsius, chilly conditions persisted and dense fog enveloped the city affecting normal life, and disrupted flight operations and led to cancellation of 50 Delhi-bound trains.

The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 7.5 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season, while the maximum temperature dropped to settle at 16.3 degrees Celsius, five notches below the season's average.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir - witnessed a further drop in the night temperature as the mercury settled at a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night's minus 5 degrees Celsius, the MeT official said.
The hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 7.1 degrees Celsius against yesterday's minus 6.7 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Fourteen trains of North Western Railways were running late in Rajasthan due to fog in parts of the state and neigbhouring regions while Mount Abu recorded the lowest temperature of 1.4 degree C last night, officials said today.
Punjab and Haryana also reeled under severe cold wave conditions, while dense fog hit normal life, with Amritsar shivering at 1.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below the normal.