North shivers; Keylong coldest with minus 8.6 deg C

Cold wave conditions continued to grip the northern belt today with the mercury settling several degrees below freezing point in Kashmir Valley, and places like Keylong in Himachal Pradesh recording a minimum of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius.
A thick blanket of haze enveloped the national capital with the minimum temperature settling at 7.1 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average.
The maximum temperature in the city was recorded at 23.7 degrees, a MeT department official said.
Kargil was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir as the temperature dipped to minus 15.4 degrees Celsius, a plunge of 8.3 degrees from previous night, MeT department said.

Nearby Leh town recorded a low of minus 12.7 degrees Celsius, he said.
Srinagar city recorded its coldest night at minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, but residents witnessed some respite last night as the mercury rose to minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chillai-Kalan, a 40-day harshest period of winter when chances of snowfall are most frequent and temperature drops considerably.
Adampur in Punjab continued to reel under intense cold with a minimum temperature of 3.7 degrees Celsius.

Cold weather conditions also prevailed in Amritsar, where the minimum temperature settled at 5.4 degrees Celsius, a MeT official said here.
Pathankot recorded a low of 7 degrees Celsius, while Patiala and Chandigarh recorded 8.5 degrees and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively.
In Haryana, Hisar was the coldest place recording a low of 6.1 degrees, while Karnal recorded a minimum of 6.5 degrees Celsius.
Biting cold conditions also persisted in most parts of Himachal Pradesh as high altitude tribal areas witnessed the mercury settling between minus 12 and minus 18 degrees Celsius, while Keylong and Manali registered a minimum of minus 8.6 degree and minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, respectively, MeT said.

Dense fog covered many places in Uttar Pradesh with Muzaffarnagar recording the minimum temperature at 3.4 degrees Celsius.
Temperatures also fell in Gorakhpur, Faizabad, Kanpur and Lucknow divisions.
The MeT office has forecast dry weather in the state over the next three days.