Respite from cold winds in UP: Mercury stays low in Northwest

New Delhi, Dec 22 (UNI) People in UP received some respite from chilly winds as temperature in some parts of the state slightly increased while the mercury stayed low in the northwest parts of the country.

Traffic on the 300-km-long Srinagar Jammu highway was resumed this evening after landslides were cleared.

About five thousand people were stranded on the highway which was closed yesterday due to landslides, resulting in price rise of essential commodities in the Kashmir valley.

Kashmir valley is witnessing cold days and warm nights, while the temperature in Drass, dipped to minus 20 degrees Celsius and it was minus 13 degrees in Kargil.

Dry weather during the next few days would result in further drop in the temperature, a meteorological department spokesman told UNI.

He said the minimum temperature in the summer capital, Srinagar, was recorded at 1.4 degrees , three degrees above normal, he said.

However, he said, the days were cold as the maximum temperature dipped to 4.2 degrees against normal of 8 degrees.

Fog enveloped the national capital for the third consecutive day today, leading to a drop in visibility levels in the morning even as the mercury rose to 9.1 degree.

Fog reduced visibility levels to 400 m at 0730 hours, the weatherman said. The low visibility led to a slight delay in flights at the international airport.

The fog also led to traffic jams in many areas.

And, even though the minimum was one degree above normal, the South Easterly winds maintained the chill in the atmosphere.

The weatherman forecast a drop in mercury in the next few days due to snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttaranchal and rain in Punjab and Haryana under the influence of a fresh western disturbance.

According to the Met department, night temperatures remained above normal in Bareilly, Jhansi, Varanasi, Faizabad, Allahabad, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Agra divisions.

Rajasthan witnessed a continuous temperature fluctuation with several places, barring Pilani, mapping a sharp rise.

Pilani, at seven degrees, remained the coldest in the state.

People reeled under cold weather conditions as the minimum temperature stayed low in many parts of northwest India.

A thick fog enveloped several areas in the region, reducing visibility to zero in Adampur, Halwara, Bhatinda, Sarsawa, Sirsa, Suratgarh and Hindon. The fog, however, disappeared as the day progressed.

Amritsar with 3.8 degrees , one degree below normal, turned out to be the coldest place in Punjab, followed by Ludhiana recording 6.9 degrees, one degree above normal. The minimum temperature dipped to 8.3 degrees in Patiala from 9.6 degrees registered yesterday.

The minimum temperature also declined in certain areas in Haryana where Narnaul recorded a low of 5.5 degrees. In Hissar, the minimum temperature dropped to 10.0 degrees but hovered six degrees above normal. The temperature also stayed three degrees above normal in Ambala recording 9.7 degrees.

A biting cold wave swept across Himachal Pradesh's tribal areas where the minimum hovered below freezing point. Kalpa in Kinnaur district showed minus 2.6 degrees.

Kangra and Kullu valleys were also under the impact of cold climatic conditions following further drop in the mercury. The minimum temperature stayed at 2.8 degrees at Bhuntar in Kullu district, 3.6 degrees at Sundernagar in Mandi district and 6.2 degrees in Una.

Shimla and its surrounding areas also reeled under cold climatic conditions although the capital town recorded 5.4 degrees, one degree above normal. Icy-cold winds blew across the town during the day.

Chandigarh and its adjoining areas in Punjab and Haryana were also under the impact of cold climatic conditions as the minimum temperature fell to 8.0 degrees from 8.6 degrees, recorded yesterday.

Night temperatures were below normal in some parts of southwest Rajasthan, south Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha.

They were appreciably to markedly above normal in Meghalaya West Bengal and Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, coastal Andhra Pradesh and in some parts of Orissa, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya pradesh, Gujarat, south Konkan and in remaining parts of Rajasthan and were above normal in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Jharkhand, Telangana and in some parts of Rayalseema, Tamil Nadu, coastal and north interior Karnataka and in remaining parts of Orissa. They were normal over the rest of the country.

Rain or snow are likely to occur at few places in Jammu and Kashmir and at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh.

Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at isolated places in Uttaranchal, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalseema, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep. Mainly dry weather will prevail over Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Telangana, Karnataka and Andman and Nicobar Islands.

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