Cold wave claims one in punjab as North-West shivers

New Delhi, Dec 30 (UNI) One person was killed in Punjab even as cold wave intensified in north-west India with the mercury dipping to 0.9 degrees celsius at Ludhiana, while a severe chill continued to put Delhiites in a ''freeze'' for the second consecutive day today.

One person was killed and three others injured in a collision between two jeeps due to fog at Bhoota village in Sangrur district.

With this, as many as twelve people have died due to cold and fog-related incidents in Punjab and Haryana so far.

With mercury rising just slightly from the season's lowest of 5 degrees Celsius yesterday to 5.2 degrees Celsius today, two degrees below normal, there was no let-up in the chill for the people of Delhi.

People groaned under biting cold wave even as a dense fog enveloped several areas in the north-west region, including Udhampur, Amritsar, Adampur, Halwara, Ambala, Chandigarh, Sarsawa, Sirsa, Bhatinda, Hindon and Palam in Delhi, reducing visibility considerably.

A severe cold wave swept parts of Punjab where the mercury dipped to minus 0.9 degrees celsius, five degrees below normal, at Ludhiana, turning it the coldest place in the plains.

Himachal Pradesh also reeled under the cold wave. Piercing cold wave swept the tribal areas where the temperature hovered below freezing point. The mercury fell to 0.6 degrees celsius at Bhuntar in Kullu district while Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded zero degrees celsius.

However, the capital town of Shimla was warmer, recording 5.9 degrees, three degrees above normal. Icy-cold winds lashed the town.

The marked rise in temperature accompanied by bright sunshine was keeping the biting winters at bay in Uttar Pradesh. Kanpur at 4.6 degrees Celsius -- 3 degrees below normal -- was the coldest place in the state.

While the visibility levels in Delhi remained at normal levels for the third consecutive day, it was extremely low in Uttar Pradesh due to the thick fog blanket in the state.

The death toll due to cold mounted to 56, following death of six more people in the last 48 hours in Mahoba, Hardoi and Allahabad districts of Uttar Pradesh.

All important trains in UP, including Triveni Express and Ganga Gomti Express were running five hours late.

The cold wave in Rajasthan also persisted although temperatures rose to two-three degrees in the last 24 hours. Ganganagar at 4.4 degrees Celsius was the coldest in the state, while Jaipur recorded 5.6 degrees Celsius today. The death toll has risen to three in the state.

Dry weather prevailed over Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Minimum temperatures fell at many places over Coastal Karnataka and at a few places over South Interior Karnataka. However, the temperature rose at a few places over North Interior Karnataka.

Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar.

Mainly dry weather will prevail over West Bengal and Sikkim, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Lakshadweep.

UNI TEAM SHB BD1945