No respite from cold in North India

There was no respite from cold weather conditions in most parts of North India on Sunday where at least 25 trains were cancelled and rail services delayed due to fog. Temperatures in most states, barring Rajasthan, rose slightly as compared to yesterday. In Delhi, which woke up to a chilly morning, the maximum was 19.2 degrees Celsius as against 17.2 degrees Celsius yesterday, though still a notch below the season's average. The minimum here settled three notches above the normal at 9.6 degrees Celsius. Humidity was high and fluctuated between 59 and 97 per cent. Fog led to cancellation of 25 trains while more than 20 trains were running behind schedule. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Valley and the Ladakh region remained in the grip of cold wave as the mercury stayed below the freezing point owing to continuous dry weather. While there was slight increase in the mercury at some places including Srinagar and Gulmarg, the minimum temperature continued to remain below the freezing point across the division. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, slightly up from the previous night's minus 4 degrees Celsius. The mercury in Leh town, recorded coldest in the state, settled at minus 14.4 degrees Celsius compared to minus 14.5 degrees Celsius the previous night. Rajasthan, too, had a cold day with Churu recording the lowest minimum at 2.5 degrees Celsius. 12 trains under north western railway were running late due to fog in the region. Sikar and Pilani both saw a low of 4.5 degrees Celsius and Sriganganagar 5.1 degrees Celsius. The night temperatures at Tonk, Jaipur, Ajmer and Jaisalmer were recorded at 5.4, 7.3, 7.5 and 10 degrees Celsius, respectively. Punjab and Haryana recorded minimum temperatures above normal levels. Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place in both states at 3 degrees Celsius. The Union Territory of Chandigarh braved cold weather at 10.8 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Amritsar had its low at 6.2 degrees Celsius.