Six die as minimum temperature touches sub-zero in Haryana

Meanwhile, thick blanket of fog continued played havoc with normal life in the entire region, reducing visibility to just few metres even as the MeT forecast further drop in minimum temperatures with dense fog and misty condition to prevail.

Chandigarh, the joint capital of agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana, recorded a low of 3 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, the MeT office said here.

It was the lowest temperature ever recorded in Chandigarh in the winter season.

Hisar and Narnaul settled at sub-zero levels with Hisar braving an all-time low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal while Narnaul registered a low of zero degrees Celsius, five notches below normal.

Punjab and Haryana shivered at a low of one to six degrees Celsius below normal, confining people indoors with markets wearing a deserted look as only a handful ventured out in the bone-chilling cold.

Four persons succumbed to the cold wave in Amritsar and one each in Hisar and Narnaul, officials said here, taking the total number of people falling pray to cold wave in Punjab and Haryana to 17 during the current winter spell. Of these, 13 have died in Punjab.

Bhiwani braved a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius followed by 3.5 degrees celsius at Ambala, three notches below normal.

Among other places, Ludhiana had a low of 4.2 degrees celsius, two notches below normal followed by 4.4 degrees celsius at Amritsar.

Patiala in Punjab shivered at a low of 3.5 degrees celsius, three notches below normal.

Meanwhile, in the wake of low visibility due to dense fog, air, rail and road traffic in the region continued to remain out of gear causing inconvenience to the commuters.

While most flights remained grounded at Chandigarh airport, several trains including Malwa express, Howrah express, Shatabdi, Tata Muri express, Shan-e-Punjab, Barmer express, Unchahar express and Lucknow mail were running late by several hours.

Frequent tripping of power and low water supply added to the woes of the people in the region.