Mercury dips in higher reaches, fog sweeps plains of north

Temperatures plummeted further in the hilly areas of northern India today even as fog affected normal life at several places in the plains under the unrelenting cold wave sweeping the region.
Delhi woke up to a shallow fog cover in the morning although the conditions cleared as the day progressed.
The minimum in the national capital was recorded at 6.3 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, while the maximum settled within the normal range at 20.6 degrees.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar recorded a minimum of -3.0 degrees, a drop by over two notches from the -0.3 degrees recorded there the night before.

Leh in Ladakh experienced its coldest night of the season, recording the lowest minimum in the state at -18.9 degrees after having shivered at -15.6 degrees the previous night.
The mercury in Kargil dipped by over six degrees from the previous night's -9.0 degrees to settle at a low of -16.6 degrees.

Meanwhile, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which connects the Valley to the rest of the country, was today reopened to traffic after having remained closed for two days due to snowfall.
Traffic on the 294-km arterial road was stopped on Friday following snowfall in the areas around Jawahar Tunnel.

"The highway has been reopened and vehicles are being allowed to ply from Srinagar towards Jammu," a traffic official told PTI. The weather in the Valley has remained dry for the last 24 hours.
The intense cold wave continued in most parts of Himachal Pradesh as the mercury stayed close to freezing point at several places across the state.
The higher reaches and tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Pangi and Bharmaur received another spell of mild snowfall, further adding to the miserable weather conditions.
The minimum dipped to -13 degrees at Bharmaur while Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti registered a low of -12.8 degrees as against the -8.7 degrees recorded there yesterday.

Although bright sunshine greeted the people in Shimla and other lower hills in the morning, the sky became heavily overcast as the day advanced.
Thick fog engulfed the towns lying on river banks in the morning while ground frost occurred in the middle and higher hills.