Fog disrupts air and rail traffic in the north

New Delhi, Dec 12 (UNI) Dense fog disrupted air and rail traffic in some northern states as the cold wave further intensified in Rajasthan while the traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway resumed this afternoon after being suspended for several hours due to landslides and shooting of stones, triggered by heavy rains.

As many as 30 flights at the international airport in the national capital were delayed by 30 minutes to an hour. However, normal flight operations resumed after a rise in visibility levels to 675 RVR at 0845 hours. Thick fog affected road and rail traffic at several places in Punjab. According to reports at least 18 vehicles were damaged in accidents on NH-I this morning. Several trains were running one to seven hours behind schedule due to poor vigibility.

Northwesterly winds plummeted the maximum temperature to 20.2 degrees Celsius in Delhi. The chill is expected to intensify in the coming days with the weatherman forecasting a drastic fall in mercury over the coming week. After showing a rising trend over the last two days, the minimum temperature in the city also fell to 8.7 degrees Celsius, from 9.1 degrees yesterday.

Authorities had allowed passenger traffic on the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway from Srinagar and Jammu this morning after the highway reopened yesterday afternoon after remaining closed for seven days.

A traffic police official told UNI the stranded vehicles were again suspended on the highway, the lifeline of Kashmir which links the Valley with the rest of the country, after fresh landslides at Penthal today. Police said the traffic resumed again at 1500 hrs after the landslides were cleared and shooting of stones stopped.

Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh shivered under a cold wave with the mercury hovering below normal at many places in the northwest.

Himachal Pradesh reeled under an intense cold wave following further drop in the temperature. The entire tribal belt was under the impact of intensified cold wave with the mercury hovering below freezing point. Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded minus 6.5 degrees celsius.

In Punjab, Ludhiana was the coldest place recording 4.9 degrees, followed by Amritsar registering 6.4 degrees and Patiala 7.8 degrees. Cold wave conditions prevailed in Chandigarh and its adjoining areas as mercury stayed four degrees below normal. The city recorded the minimum at 4.0 degrees Celsius against 7.4 degrees recorded yesterday.

Cold wave lashed the plains in Haryana with the minimum hovering 4.5 degrees Celsius at Narnaul, 6.5 degrees at Ambala, 7.0 degrees at Karnal and 8.0 degrees at Hissar and 8.5 degrees at Rohtak.

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