Mercury dips again, fog hits normal life in north India

A dense fog in the national capital today hit rail, road and air traffic and caused problems for commuters although Delhiites did not experience any drastic change in temperatures.

The maximum was recorded at 21.9 degrees Celsius, which is normal for this time of season while the minimum was one notch below normal at 7.6 degrees.

The fog, which had reduced visibility to less than 50 metres, affected operations at IGI airport for around five hours, delaying 130 flights along with 19 diversions and cancellations 19 each.

Foggy conditions also led to the cancellations of 10 trains and rescheduling of two others.

The cold was back after two days of rising temperatures in Kashmir Valley where the mercury dropped by as much as eight notches in Gulmarg.

According to the MeT office, the ski resort in north Kashmir which had recorded a low of -2 degrees the previous night was shivering at -10.6 degrees Celsius yesterday.

The minimum temperature in Srinagar was -1.4 degrees, lower by over two notches from 1.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.

There was no appreciable change in temperatures in Himachal Pradesh with the local MeT office issuing a fresh warning of heavy rain and snowfall from February 4 to February 6 on the back of a strong western disturbance which is to hit the western Himalayan region today.

The high altitude areas of the state groaned under the freezing cold with minimum temperatures recorded between -12 and -23 degrees Celsius.

The region experienced a clear but chilly morning although the sky got heavily overcast by afternoon, forcing people to stay indoors.

Punjab and Haryana saw minimum temperatures rising by up to two notches above normal today with fog disrupting normal life at places like Amritsar, Karnal, Ludhiana, Ambala and Patiala. MORE