Cold wave grips northern India; Toll in UP reaches 19

New Delhi, Dec 13 (UNI) The cold wave maintained its grip over the Northern belt today with foggy conditions prevailing across the region, leading to disruptions in air traffic as five people died in Uttar Pradesh, taking the toll due to cold to 19.

The Northwesterly winds in the national capital dipped the temperature to 8.2 degrees Celsius.

The dense fog during the forenoon resulted in extremely low visibility, leading to a delay in 25 flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Incoming flights, scheduled to arrive from other cities like Mumbai, were also delayed.

The fog situation also led to several traffic jams in the city due to low visibility, which dropped to below 400 M in the morning.

The tempratures in Uttar Pradesh showed a slight plunge during the nights, while the toll in the state due to cold mounted to 19 with the death of five more people during the last 24 hours.

So far, seven people have died of cold in Mahoba, followed by Bareilly four, Hardoi and Hameepur two each, and while one each in Lucknow, Moradabad, Lalitpur and Badaun.

The weatherman have accredited the fall in the temperature to the snowfall and rainfall in the hills of Uttaranchal.

According to reports, visibility levels touched extreme low levels owing to fog blanket during the morning and evening hours which led to the three trains being delayed, including Howra Mail, Siyaldah Express and Kisan Express. This is the second day in succession when all important long route trains were delayed due to fog.

Intense cold wave conditions continued over Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh with the mercury hovering below normal at many places and dense fog disrupting the rail and road traffic.

Maximum and minimum temperatures in the high altitudes and several areas of the tribal districts in Himachal has plummeted to the lowest during the winter season.

Snow clouds were hovering over the tribal districts of Kinnuar, Lahaul Spiti, Chamba and Kullu districts and the met sources said it was likely to snow anytime.

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