Cold wave continues following snowfall in Himachal Pradesh

New Delhi, Jan 15 (UNI) The severe cold wave sweeping North West India continued today following snowfall in higher reaches of Himachal Praesh even as the nationwide toll has now gone up to 174.

The piercing cold wave conditions in eastern Uttar Pradesh has claimed five more lives in the past 24 hours, as the death toll in the state has now gone up to 115.

Altogether 19 lives were lost Punjab and Haryana, 35 in Bihar and five in North Bengal.

Dry icy winds lashed Uttar Pradesh, making people shiver even during the day despite bright sunshine. The dry weather would continue in the state.

The weatherman has forecast a further drop in mercury in the coming days.

A report from Sangam, Allahabad said pilgrims had to face hardships as the Ardh Kumbh Mela administration did not make proper bonfire arrangements even on Makar Sankranti.

Meanwhile, fog continued to disturb train schedules.

Adampur, near Jalandhar, reeled under intense cold wave and was the coldest place in the plains as the minimum hovered three degrees to four degrees celsius below normal in Punjab.

Cold wave conditions, prevailing in many parts of Punjab and some parts of Haryana, are likely to continue for the next two days.

People groaned under biting cold wave at Amritsar with the minimum dipping to 0.2 degrees , four degrees below normal, followed by Ludhiana recording 2.9 degrees, three degrees below normal, and Patiala registering 3.5 degrees, four degrees low.

Some parts of Haryana also reeled under cold wave with the temperature hovering two to four degrees below normal.

The Cold wave also lashed certain parts of Himachal Pradesh and piercing cold wave conditions prevailed in the tribal areas following a snowfall in the higher reaches of the state last night.

The mercury hovered at minus 4.7 degrees at Kalpa in tribal Kinnaur district.

The higher altitude areas of Lahaul Spiti and Pangi Valley in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh experienced mild snowfall last night after over a month, while the state had some respite from coldwave conditions.

The high altitude areas in Pangi Valley was receiving intermittent snowfall since last night, while light clouds were hovering over the higher reaches of Lahaul Spiti, which experienced mild snowfall last night.

Shimla and its surrounding areas were also under the impact of cold wave although the the minimum temperature rose to 2.0 degrees celsius.

Despite a bright sunshine greeting the people cold wave swept across Chandigarh and its adjoining areas during the day. The city recorded the minimum at 2.0 degrees.

Intensified cold wave blew across the Kashmir valley as the minimum temperature hovered at minus 3.4 degrees in Srinagar while Jammu registered 4.5 degrees, four degrees below normal.

There was a let up in the cold wave sweeping Rajasthan even as the temperature in Mount Abu rose to 3 degree. It rose to 6.5 in the state capital.

The cold wave sweeping through Delhi over the last two weeks continued into the third week with the mercury touching 4.8 degree, two degrees below normal.

It was another chilly morning that greeted Delhiites as cold South Easterly winds maintained the biting cold that has marked the weather of Delhi over the last two weeks.

The cold winds led to a drop in minimum temperature in the capital from 5.7 Degree C yesterday to 4.8 degree C today.

Visibility levels in Delhi continued to remain normal with just a slight fog witnessed this morning.

Kolkata experienced a cold and foggy morning as the mercury took a dip to 13.2 degree today from yesterday's 15 degrees.

Morning mist was experienced in some parts of the city. A nip in the air and a cold breeze was also felt throughout the day due to the north westerly wind.

Manipur experienced a cold and foggy day with minimum temperature recorded at about 4 degrees in Imphal.

A cold wave also gripped Sikkim with the minimum temperature plummeting to 3.3 degree in Gangtok.

UNI