Amritsar remains cold at 2.8 degrees Celsius

Chandigarh, Dec 23 (UNI) Even though the night temperatures rose in many areas in north-west India, it continued to remain below normal in Amritsar, turning the holy city as the coldest place in the plains.

People groaned under the piercing cold at Amritsar where the minimum temperature was recorded at 2.8 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal.

Elsewhere in the region, the minimum stayed one degree to six degrees Celsius above normal.

Several areas in Punjab and Haryana reported mist in the morning.

However after a bright and sunny morning, the weather turned cloudy with the met office predicting light to moderate showers in parts of Punjab and Haryana and snow in middle and upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh.

In Punjab, the minimum temperatures rose and hovered two degrees above normal at Ludhiana and Patiala, with the two cities recording 8.3 degrees C and 9.1 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, Ambala recorded 7.6 degrees C, one degree above normal. Hissar 10.1 degrees C, Narnaul 9.0 degrees Cand Rohtak 11.6 degrees C, six degrees above normal. However Karnal which recored 7.4 degrees C, was one degree below normal.

Parts of Himachal Pradesh reported a decline in the temperatures with Bhuntar in Kullu district registering 0.7 degrees C and Sundernagar in Mandi district registering 1.3 degrees. The mercury, however, rose at the state capital, Shimla to 8.8 degrees C, five degrees above normal.

Cold winds swept Chandigarh with the sun gradually getting eclipsed by the clouds by the evening. The night temperature in the city further rose to 11.8 degrees C, six degrees C above normal.

UNI