Cold weather sweeps Haryana, Punjab

Chandigarh : Cold weather conditions persisted in Haryana and Punjab on Thursday, with minimum temperatures hovering below normal at many places. Sirsa was recorded as the coldest place in Haryana at 3.6 degrees Celsius, the meteorological department said. Among other places in the state, Hisar and Fatehabad reeled at a low of 3.8 degrees Celsius each, Ambala 4.6 degrees Celsius, Bhiwani 5.7 degrees Celsius, Karnal 4.4 degrees Celsius and Rohtak 5.8 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, registered a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius. On Wednesday, the Union territory registered a sharp drop in its maximum temperature which settled at 8.4 degrees Celsius, making it the city’s coldest day in the past decade. In January 2013, Chandigarh had recorded a maximum temperature of 6.1 degrees Celsius.

Biting cold swept through Punjab’s Gurdaspur, which recorded a low of 4 degrees Celsius, Patiala, Bathinda and Faridkot 5 degrees Celsius each, Amritsar and Ludhiana 5.5 degrees Celsius each and Pathankot 6 degrees Celsius. Fog reduced visibility at many places in the two states in the morning.