Relatively warm weather in north; 3 die in mishaps due to fog

Weather remained relatively warm across North India today except Jammu and Kashmir although mercury dipped marginally in most parts on the last day of the year which dawned with a blanket of thick fog covering vast swathes, including Uttar Pradesh where three persons died in road accidents caused by poor visibility.
In the national capital, residents woke up to a foggy morning with the minimum temperature being recorded at 8.2 degrees Celsius. Yesterday, it stood at 8.5 degrees.
The visibility was recorded 400 metres at 5.30 AM and 600 metres at 8.30 AM, MeT officials said here.
After a brief let-up in the past few days, people in Uttar Pradesh were greeted with chill in the air this morning with heavy fog engulfing some parts of the state. Muzaffarnagar recorded the state's lowest temperature at 4.1 degrees Celsius.

Poor visibility in Lucknow and a few other districts affected road and rail traffic. Three persons were killed in separate road accidents caused by poor visibility.
Two school children were killed as vehicle carrying them rammed into a stationary truck in Tarwa area of Azamgarh and a 28-year-old woman was fatally hit by a speeding vehicle while she was crossing the road in Haldi area of Ballia.

Cold wave continued to sweep Haryana and Punjab, with the mercury hovering well below normal levels. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, experienced a cold night at 5.8 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal level.

In Haryana, Hisar and Karnal recorded identical minimum temperatures of 3.5 degrees Celsius, while Narnaul registered a low of 5.2 degrees Celsius.
Amritsar in Punjab also reeled under cold wave. The night temperature in the holy city settled at 3.3 degrees Celsius. Ludhiana reeled under 4.3 degrees Celsius, while Patiala's night temperature settled at 6.1 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, mercury continued its free fall in Kashmir division as Leh in Ladakh region recorded the coldest night this winter with a minimum temperature of minus 16.3 degrees Celsius.
"Leh was the coldest recorded place in the state at minus 16.3 degrees Celsius, down from yesterday's minus 13.2 degrees Celsius. This was the coldest temperature recorded this winter in the state," a MeT department official in Jaipur said.

Kargil also recorded extreme sub-zero temperature of minus 14.6 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg in north Kashmir remained the coldest recorded place in the Valley with a low of minus 7.6 degrees. Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.7.
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Ludhiana recorded a minimum temperature of 7 degrees
Celsius, up two notches against normal. Karnal recorded a minimum of 8.8 degrees Celsius, up two degrees while Narnaul's low settled at 8.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.
Night temperatures increased marginally in parts of Rajasthan where Phalodi was recorded as the coldest place, with a low of 8 degrees Celsius followed by Sriganganagar which recorded 8.9 degrees Celsius.

Sawaimadhopur, Bundi, Churu, Vanasthali and Jaipur recorded minimums of 9, 9.6, 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 degrees Celsius while other stations registered minimum temperature between 11 and 13.6 degrees Celsius.
Fog prevailed in northern region which caused delay in movement of trains.
North western railway rescheduled several trains while 13 other trains were running late.
Residents of Patna would have to celebrate new year's day tomorrow in dense fog condition and as sunshine eluded during the day, citizens shivered in cold condition across Bihar.
Minimum temperature in Patna was recorded at 12.1 degree celsius today. Temple town of Gaya was the coldest place in Bihar with mercury plummeting to 10.5 degree celsius.

Marginal rise in temperature amid foggy conditions in some parts of Odisha brought respite from the intense cold wave, while Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district became the coldest place in the state today.
Dense fog enveloped the skyline over the state capital of Bhubaneswar and surrounding areas during the morning hours leading to poor visibility that affected vehicular movement for sometime.
The capital city recorded a minimum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius compared to 15.1 degrees registered yesterday, the MeT office said.
Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters town of Kalahandi, turned out to be the coldest place in the state with the mercury settling at 6.7 degrees Celsius.

According to weather forecast, cold conditions at isolated places are expected in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and Punjab. Dense fog at a few places with very dense fog at isolated places are likely to be witnessed in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and Punjab.