Sun brings relief in north India sans UP

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) Chill played dampener in thefestive season in Uttar Pradesh, claiming eight more lives inthe state, even as other northern states and Bihar witnessed abright sunny day today with the mercury registering a slightrise.

Eight people succumbed to severe cold conditions in UP,taking the statewide toll to 121 this winter.

While three deaths were reported from Gonda, two died inBarabanki and one each in Basti, Sitapur and Gorakhpur.

Najibabad at minimum 2 degree Celsius was the coldestplace in the state.

The state capital Lucknow recorded a low of of 3.2 deg C,while it was 4.1 deg C at Varanasi and Kanpur shivered at 3.6deg C.

Cold continued to make life miserable for people in Assamwith the mercury plummeting to 8 deg C in Guwahati and a thickblanket of fog engulfing most parts of the state.

However, the sun shone brightly bringing much relief tothe people in Bihar, which was in the grip of intense chillsince past fortnight.

The minimum temperature too witnessed a moderate increaseacross the state as the chill in the air subsided.

Patna recorded a minimum of 4 deg C, up from yesterday''s3.7 deg C.

Elsewhere, Purnia settled at 4 deg C, Muzaffarpur 5.2 degC and Bhagalpur 7.8 deg C.

Sabour block in Bhagalpur district was the coldest placein the state with a minimum temperature of 2.5 deg C.

Delhiites also experienced a sunny day with the mercuryregistering a slight rise.

The minimum rose to 5.3 deg C from yesterday''s 3.9 deg C,giving some reprieve to the denizens from the extreme cold.

Punjab and Haryana got some respite from the bone-chilling cold as there was a marginal increase in minimumtemperature in the region with the mercury hovering betweenone and three deg C below normal.

Ludhiana at a low of 2.8 deg C, three notches belownormal, was coldest in the plains in the two states, whileAmritsar braved a minimum of 3.4 deg C.

Elsewhere, Patiala recorded a low of 3.9 deg Celsius,while it was 4.9 deg C in Rohtak and 6.2 deg C in Ambala.

Union Territory Chandigarh, which is also the jointcapital of the two states, settled at 5.2 deg C.

However, a thick blanket of fog reduced visibility atseveral places in the region due to which several trains wererunning late.

Srinagar also got relief from the freezing temperaturewith the mercury settling at 1.6 deg C. This is for the firsttime this winter that the minimum in Srinagar rose above zerodeg C. .

However, cold wave continued to intensify in other parts of Jammu and Kashmir with the mercury in Leh plunging to -20.4deg C, making it the coldest place in the state.

Kargil recorded a minimum of -15.4 deg C, while it was-8.5 deg C in Gulmarg, a skiing resort, and -3.2 deg C in thehill resort of Pahalgam.

After days of biting chill, rising mercury brought reliefto the people in Rajasthan.

Sriganganagar, which at 1.5 deg C was the coldest placeyesterday, settled at 4.4 deg C.

Elsewhere, Mount Abu recorded a minimum temperature of 4deg C, Pilani 8.4 deg C followed by Jaipur at 9 deg C. PTITEAM