North shivers as mercury remains sub-zero

New Delhi/Shimla/Srinagar: An intense cold wave saw most parts of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana shivering on Sunday with Shimla at a biting 1.3 degrees Celsius while nearby Kufri recorded 1.8 degrees below the freezing point. Shimla experienced its coldest night of the season despite long sunny conditions. 

"The night temperature remained sub-zero in most of the towns in the state," a weather official said. Popular tourist spots near Shimla like Chail and Narkanda are also reeling under cold wave.

Srinagar and most other places in Kashmir division, including Leh and Ladakh regions, experienced the coldest night of the winter so far as cold tightened its grip in the state. The night temperature dropped across Kashmir Valley, at some places by several degrees, with many stations marking the lowest temperature of the season so far.

Severe cold wave was sweeping Punjab and Haryana for over a week. It further intensified on Sunday with minimum temperature hovering in the range of 2-5 degrees Celsius at most places.

Adampur in Punjab was the coldest place in the two states with a low of 0.7 degrees Celsius, a Met department official said here. Freezing cold also swept Narnaul in Haryana, which recorded a low of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The official said barring south Haryana, including Rohtak, Hisar and Bhiwani and isolated places in Punjab, fog had lifted from rest of the region. “Clear skies led to sudden fall in minimum temperature although the maximum temperature increased slightly. Fog is also likely to lift from remaining parts of Haryana and Punjab in the next two days,” he said.

Piercing cold also swept Amritsar in Punjab, which recorded a low of 2.6 degrees Celsius, down one notch against normal. Bathinda recorded a low of 2.5 degrees Celsius, Halwara 3.7, Pathankot 3.8, Gurdaspur 3.8, Faridkot 3.8 and Ludhiana 4.4 degrees Celsius were among other places in Punjab which reeled under intense cold as minimum temperature hovered few notches below normal limit.