Ambala coldest place in North West plains

Chandigarh, Dec 9 (UNI) Ambala turned out to be the coldest place in the North West plains, as people in the region reeled under cold weather conditions following an overcast sky and early morning fog that reduced visibility.

The minimum temperature in Ambala was recorded at 4.5 degrees celsius, three degrees below normal. The maximum in the town fell to 15.9 degrees, seven degrees below normal.

The dense fog that enveloped many areas in the morning, reducing the visibility to 300 metres at Adampur near Jalandhar and to 500 metres near Ambala. The day tempertures in most parts of Punjab and Haryana dropped to three to seven degrees below normal.

In Punjab, the Holy City of Amritsar was cold at 4.9 degrees, three degrees below normal, while the maximum here dropped to 18.6 degrees, four degrees below normal. Ludhiana was cold at 6.7 degrees while the minimum in Patiala hovered at around six degrees.

The minimum temperature in Karnal was 6.2 degrees while in Hisar the night conditions were slightly better at 9.4 degrees. In Narnaul the minimum hovered at around 7 degrees celsius.

Cold wave lashed many areas of Himachal Pradesh, as the night temperatures fell at certain places in the upper and mid hills. The entire tribal belt and Kullu valley were under the impact of cold wave conditions.

The minimum temperature in Bhuntar in Kullu district fell to 1.8 degrees, two degrees below normal. The night temperature in Sundernagar in Mandi district also declined to 3.7 degrees.

Shimla and its surrounding areas also reeled under cold climatic conditions with the minimum dipping to 4.1 degrees celsius at the capital town. Kalpa in tribal Kinnaur district recorded 0.6 degrees celsius.

The minimum temperature at Chandigarh rose by one degree and was recorded at 5.0 degrees while the minimum fell to 17.6 degrees, five degrees below normal.

The weather office has predicted light to moderate rain or snow at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh in the next 48 hours. Light to moderate rains are also predicted in the plains of Punjab and Haryana.

UNI