Mercury rises in north India; fresh snowfall in Kashmir

North India experienced some respite from cold today as mercury rose by few notches in most parts but a spell of fresh snowfall in higher reaches of Kashmir and Ladakh regions disrupted normal life.
Residents of Delhi experienced a pleasant and warm day with the sun shinning brightly throughout the day and the maximum temperature was recorded at 27.8 degrees Celsius, six notches above normal, while the minimum settled at 8.6 deg C.
The higher reaches of Kashmir valley and Ladakh region, including Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Banihal and Drass, received fresh snowfall even as the minimum temperature rose by several degrees bringing relief to the residents.

Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 1.8 degrees Celsius, over one degree up from the last night's 0.3 deg C.
Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, over three degrees up from the last night's minus 10.0 degrees Celsius.
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed today for traffic because of snowfall and slippery road conditions at Patnitop and Jawahar Tunnel. No vehicle was allowed to cross Jawahar Tunnel for Jammu after 2 PM following snowfall.

In Rajasthan, mercury continued to rise bringing respite from cold condition to the desert state, specially during day hours. The sole hill station of Mount Abu registered minimum temperature of 6 degrees Celsius.

About a dozen trains of North Western Railways were running late due to fog in adjoining states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, an official said.
The minimum temperatures hovered a few notches above normal across Punjab and Haryana today. While Chandigarh recorded a low of 8.6 degrees Celsius, one notch above normal, Amritsar registered a low of 10.1 deg C, up by five notches.
Hisar and Ambala in Haryana also recorded above normal minimums at 8.3 deg C and 10 deg C, respectively.
Weather remained mainly dry and dense to moderate fog occurred at many places over Uttar Pradesh, even as cold conditions prevailed at isolated places.