Night temperature dips to minus 0.6 degrees at Adampur

Chandigarh, Jan 14 (UNI) Northwest India was in the grip of intensified cold with the mercury dipping to minus 0.6 degrees Celsius at Adampur in Punjab today.

People groaned under piercing cold as the minimum temperatures hovered one degree to three degrees below normal at most places in Punjab and Haryana.

A dense fog enveloped several areas, reducing visibility to 600m at Adampur and Pathankot and 800m at Udhampur and Palam in Delhi in the morning.

A low temperature warning has been issued for Punjab where ground frost may occur at few places in the next one night, according to the Weather Office here.

The mercury dipped to minus 0.6 degrees Celsius at Adampur in Jalandhar, turning it the coldest place in Punjab. Amritsar recorded the minimum at 0.5 degrees, three degrees below normal, while Ludhiana registered 4.5 degrees and Patiala 5.7 degrees which was one degree down. The border town of Pathankot was cold at 4.4 degrees and Bhatinda at 7.0 degrees Celsius.

The cold climatic conditions also prevailed in Haryana. The night temperature hovered at 4.7 degrees at Narnaul in Mahendergarh district, turning the town as the coldest place in the state.

The minimum fell two degrees below normal at Karnal recording 4.8 degrees, followed by Ambala registering 5.6 degrees, one degree below normal. Hissar, however, showed two degrees above normal temperature at 7.1 degrees.

Several areas in Himachal Pradesh reeled under the cold wave.

People in the tribal districts of Lahaul spiti and Kinnaur and Pangi valley and Bharmour area in Chamba district were facing biting cold wave as the minimum hovered below freezing point in these areas.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded minus 3.6 degrees Celsius.

Bhuntar in Kullu district recorded 2.0 degrees while Sundernagar in Mandi district showed 2.5 degrees Celsius. Icy-cold winds lashed the capital town of Shimla, where the minimum stayed one degree above normal, recording 3.5 degrees People in Chandigarh and its adjoining areas in Punjab and Haryana were also facing a cold spell with the mercury settling 7.0 degrees Celsisus.

Light to moderate rain or snow is likely to occur at higher reaches in Himachal Pradesh while the weather will be partly cloudy in Punjab and Haryana during the next 48 hours.

UNI VKJ SP RN1753