Cold wave grips Punjab, Himachal Pradesh again

Chandigarh, Jan 24 (UNI) Cold wave returned to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh as the night temperatures stayed low even though bright sunshine greeted the people in the region today.

The minimum temperature hovered two to four degree Celsius below normal at Amritsar, Adampur, Ludhiana, Patiala, Karnal, Bhuntar, Srinagar, Jammu and Safderjung in Delhi.

Fog reduced the visibility to zero in some areas of the region.

Visibility recorded at Udhampur, Halwara and Sarsawa was about 500 metres, at Chandigarh and Hindon 600 metres, 600 metres at Ambala and 650 metres at Palam (Delhi), Bhatinda and Amritsar recorded visibility 800 metres.

Cold wave, prevailing in some parts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, is likely to abate during the next two days, the Weather Office said. It also warned of ground frost occuring at isolated places in Punjab and Haryana.

People suffered severe cold at Amritsar and Adampur in Punjab, recording 0.5 degrees and 0.6 degrees Celsius respectively.

Ludhiana registered 4.1 degrees while Patiala recorded 4.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal.

Narnaul in Haryana recorded a low of 1.5 degrees Celsius, followed by Karnal registering 3.6 degrees, Ambala 3.8 degrees and Rohtak 4.5 degrees celsius.

The minimum hovered one degree above normal at Hissar recording 6.6 degrees.

Despite sunny weather, cold wave conditions prevailed in Chandigarh, with the minimum temperatures staying at 5.0 degrees, three degrees below normal.

The cold wave again swept Himachal Pradesh and extreme cold conditions prevailed in the tribal areas of the state. The minimum temperatures hovered at minus 2.4 degrees Celsius at Kalpa in Kinnaur district.

Bhuntar in Kullu district recorded zero degrees and Sundernagar in Mandi district had 0.8 degrees. However, the capital town of Shimla registered 7.2 degrees celsius, which was five degrees above normal.

The Weather Office has predicted light to moderate rain or snow at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and partly cloudy days with fog or mist during night and morning in Punjab and Haryana in the next 24 hours.

UNI