Some respite from cold conditions in N India as mercury rises

Temperatures rose marginally in parts of North India today providing some respite from cold wave conditions though fog at several places affected rail and road traffic.
The lowest minimum temperature recorded in the plains was 4.0 degrees Celsius at Punjab's Amritsar.
Sun shone bright in the national capital and day temperature rose above normal. However, Palam area witnessed fog this morning which brought the visibility down to less than 50 mt.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 10 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average, while maximum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 24.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal for this time of the season.

Early morning fog disrupted the rail services which led to delay in the schedule of 45 north-bound trains while 20 others were rescheduled.
"The skies will be partly cloudy and there is a possibility of very light rain. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 24 and 11 degrees Celsius respectively tomorrow," the weatherman said.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in Punjab and Haryana even as minimum temperatures rose by few notches above normal in most parts of both states even as dense fog prevailing at several places also affected rail, road and air traffic in the two states.

Union Territory Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded minimum at 8.3 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal.
Ambala recorded minimum at 9.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal while minimum of Hisar and Karnal were 7.9 degrees and 7 degrees Celsius respectively.
Narnaul braved cold weather at 9 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal.
The night temperature across Kashmir division, except Qazigund, went down as the weather remained dry, leading to opening of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway a day after snowfall led to its closure.
The National Highway was opened for one-way traffic, an official of the Traffic Department said, adding however, only light motor vehicles were allowed to ply on the arterial road, the only all-weather road-link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.

The Meteorological Department (MeT) has forecast rains or snow over five days.