North India shivers, 5 killed in Himachal avalanche

New Delhi, Jan 21: North India continues to shiver in extreme cold. In Himachal Pradesh, where five persons were killed in an avalanche in Kinnaur district on Saturday night, the Hindustan-Tibet and Kiratpur-Manali national highways remained shut due to heavy snowfall. One-way traffic was restored on Jammu-Srinagar national highway after three days while Delhi remained frozen at 6.3 degrees Celsius.

Officials in Himachal said communication with the upper reaches of the state remained cut off for the fifth day on Sunday due to snowfall. Keylong, which recorded -12 degrees, was the coldest place while the temperature at Manali was recorded to be 6.2 degrees. The minimum temperature at Shimla was zero degree while the maximum was 8.8 degrees. Normal life was disrupted across the state owing to problems in power and water supply.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the weather remained dry with no fresh snowfall. Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of -0.5 degrees and maximum of 7.5 degrees. Snowfall is likely in the state in the next few days, Met department sources said.

Ukteshwar in Uttarakhand recorded the lowest minimum temperature of -1.5 degrees while Punjab and Haryana also shivered in cold. Temperatures remained below normal in most parts of these two states. Narnaul, with a low of 3.2 degrees, was the coldest place in Haryana. Chandigarh, which remained foggy, recorded a minimum of 7.6 degrees Celsius. Amritsar in Punjab recorded 4.2 degrees.

In Uttar Pradesh, where several lives have been claimed by extreme weather this season, the weather remained mostly dry and the mercury dipped sharply at several places at night. Agra, which recorded a minimum of 3.7 degrees, was the coldest place in the state.

OneIndia News