Cold wave sweeps parts of Punjab, HP

Chandigarh, Nov 28 (UNI) Parts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have been in the grip of a cold wave with the night temperature dipping two degrees to four degrees below normal at many places in the north-west region and touching 3.1 degrees celsius at Ludhiana in the plains today.

Several areas, including Amritsar, Sarsawa and Hindon, remained shrouded in fog which reduced visibility considerably, affecting movement of trains on the busy Delhi-Amritsar and Delhi-Jammu routes. Bhatinda, Suratgarh, Sirsa, Ambala and Adampur reported mist.

Several long distance trains, including 5707 Katihar Amritsar-Amrapalli Express, 3049 Howrah-Amritsar Express, 2471 Mumbai-Jammu Swaraj Express, 1057 Dadar (Mumbai)-Amritsar Express, 2919 Indore-Jammu Malwa Express and 6031 Chennai-Jammu-Andaman Express were running one to three hours behind schedule, a report from Jalandhar quoting a railway spokesman said.

Ground frost may occur at isolated places in the next two nights. There is also a possibility of ground frost occuring at isolated places in Haryana also, according to the met department.

The mercury dipped to 3.1 degrees celsius, six degrees below normal at Ludhiana, making it the coldest place in Punjab. Adampur recorded the minimum at 3.4 degrees celsius, followed by Amritsar registering 5.5 degrees, two degrees below normal, and Patiala 6.3 degrees which was three degrees down.

The minimum temperature also plummeted in Haryana with Narnaul recording 5.0 degrees while Ambala recorded 5.2 degrees, two degrees below normal, and Karnal 5.9 degrees, four degrees below normal.

Several areas in Himachal Pradesh were also reeling under the cold wave. People in the tribal districts of Lahaul spiti and Kinnaur and Pangi valley and Bharmour area in Chamba district were facing the bitter cold wave as the minimum temperature hovered below freezing point in these areas.

Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded a minimum of 2.1 degrees while Bhuntar in Kullu district reported 3.2 degrees. Icy-cold winds lashed the capital town of Shimla recording a minimum of 3.6 degrees.

Chandigarh and its adjoining areas in Punjab and Haryana were also under cold weather conditions with the mercury hovering two degrees below normal. The city recorded the minimum at 6.6 degrees celsisus.

The Kashmir valley continued to be in the grip of a cold wave with Srinagar recording minus 1.4 degrees while Jammu registered 9.3 degrees, two degrees below normal.

The current spell of cold and fog have already claimed the lives of three people in Haryana.

The Met Office has predicted light to moderate rain or snow at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh while the weather will be mainly sunny tomorrow with fog and mist occuring in the morning and in the evening.

UNI VKJ PB VV1811