Punjab and Haryana continued to remain in the grip of intense cold wave today as day temperatures fell several notches below normal with Chandigarh recording the second lowest maximum temperature of the season.
Chandigarh's maximum temperature plummeted to 9.9 degrees Celsius, which was eleven notches below normal and the current season's second lowest after 9 degrees Celsius registered last month, the Met officials here said.
The minimum temperature in the city settled at 6.8 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, they said, adding that residents had woken up to a thick blanket of fog and icy cold winds this morning.
The day temperature fell sharply at other places as well with Ambala registering a high of 10.8 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal.
Karnal recorded a high of 11 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal while Hisar's maximum settled at 15.2 degrees Celsius, down by six notches.
Amritsar (11.9 degrees Celsius), Ludhiana (14.4 degrees Celsius) and Patiala (12.8 degrees Celsius) in Punjab also registered below normal maximum temperatures.
The minimum temperatures, however, hovered near the normal level mark at most places in the two states.
Ambala in Haryana recorded a low of 6 degrees C, while the minimum temperature in Hisar settled at 5.4 degrees C.
In Punjab, Amritsar experienced a cold night at 4.6 degrees C while Ludhiana and Patiala recorded respective lows of 7.6 degrees C and 6.9 degrees C.
Due to the cold weather and fog, the Haryana government has decided to change the school timings from 10 AM to 4 PM instead of 9 AM to 3.30 PM from tomorrow till January 17.
The changed timings would be applicable to all schools including private schools, an official release said here.
Earlier in the day, foggy weather affected normal movement of road, rail and air traffic in the region.
Long distance train between Sainagar Shirdi and Kalka via Chandigarh was running behind schedule by over four hours. Another train between Chandigarh and Lucknow was also running late by over two hours.
Two flights between Delhi and Chandigarh stood cancelled while a few were behind schedule.
