Leh freezes at -13.9 deg C, cold weather in north India

Leh froze at minus 13.9 degrees Celsius as most parts of Jammu and Kashmir recorded sub-zero temperatures amid cold weather conditions prevailing in north India, including Delhi.
Mercury in the national capital scaled up to settle at 22.8 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 9.8 degrees Celsius, both two notches above the season's average.
However, dense fog cover in Delhi during the morning hours delayed running of 40 trains and led to a change in schedule of 17 others. Flight operations although remained unaffected by the weather conditions, officials said.
The night temperature across Kashmir division dipped by several degrees as the cold wave tightened its grip in the region where the prevailing dry weather is expected to lead to further drop in the mercury.

Leh, in Ladakh region, was the coldest recorded place in J-K with a temperature of minus 13.9 degrees Celsius while Kargil town recorded minus 11.8 degrees Celsius, two notches down from the previous days.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 5.1 degrees Celsius, as 'Chillai-Kalan', considered the harshest period of winter, continues in Kashmir.

Cold conditions prevailed in Punjab and Haryana as minimum temperatures hovered a few notches above normal in most parts of both the states where Amritsar remained the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded a minimum temperature of 8.6 degrees Celsius, slightly above the normal.

In Uttar Pradesh, one person was killed and two others were injured in road accidents as fog cover reduced visibility in the state where Muzaffarnagar with a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius remained the coldest place.
Dry weather continued in the state with moderate to dense fog occurring at many places and very dense fog at isolated places.
The night temperature fell appreciably in Agra division, it rose appreciably in Kanpur and Lucknow divisions, rose in Varanasi, Allahabad divisions and changed little elsewhere.
Night temperatures dipped in parts of Rajasthan as Mount Abu, the sole hill station of the desert state, shivered at 2.4 degrees Celsius while Jaipur recorded 12.4 degrees Celsius.

Normal life was thrown out of gear in several parts of
Himachal Pradesh as its high altitude areas experienced heavy snowfall, while mid and lower hills were lashed by heavy rains.
Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Pangi, Rohtang, Kunzam and other high mountain passes are covered under 60 cm to 90 cm thick blanket of snow. Rains triggered landslides, uprooting trees and obstructing vehicular traffic.
Traffic on Manali-Kullu highway was also disrupted due to heavy snow.
Minimum temperatures rose marginally with Keylong, Kalpa and Manali recording a low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius, minus 0.8 degrees Celsius and minus 0.6 degrees Celsius respectively. Shimla registered a low of 4 degrees Celsius.

Heavy rains lashed Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory Chandigarh but the minimum temperature rose by several notches above normal levels in several parts of the two states.
It was pouring at Chandigarh and the night temperature here settled at 14.6 degrees Celsius, up nine notches against the normal, a MeT Department official said.
Among other places in Punjab which received rains included Mohali, Ropar, Nawanshahr, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar. In Haryana, Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Rohtak and Jind were also lashed by rain.
Ambala recorded its minimum at 14 degrees Celsius, seven notches above normal limits. Hisar's low settled at 14 degrees Celsius, up six notches while Karnal recorded its minimum at 13 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal.

In Punjab, Amritsar registered a low of 13 degrees Celsius, nine notches against normal. Ludhiana recorded a low of 13.7 degrees Celsius, eight degrees above normal.
Bihar witnessed yet another bright and shiny day with day temperature rising moderately.
Purnea remained the warmest place at 30.3 degrees Celsius, while Gaya recorded the lowest temperature at 9.6 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.