Title - 14 die of cold in North India

Fourteen people succumbed to extreme cold in North India on Monday as temperatures plummeted across the region making people stay inside homes.Delhiites shivered in the morning as the mercury plunged to the season’s lowest of 5.5 degrees Celsius even as dense fog affected air traffic.The minimum was two degrees below normal, down from Sunday’s 7.7 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in the Capital was 13.3 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal.Extreme cold claimed 14 more lives in various parts of Uttar Pradesh bringing the toll this winter to 83 in the State.Despite a sunny afternoon which provided much needed relief to people, the chill claimed three lives each in Jalaun and Bhadohi, two each in Azamgarh, Bahraich and Shrawasti and one each in Ghazipur and Sonebhadra.The weatherman said that maximum temperatures were below normal by four to ten degrees Celsius at one or two places in the State.Night temperatures fell appreciably in Lucknow division.They were below normal in Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Jhansi and Agra divisions and normal in the remaining divisions.The lowest minimum temperature in the State was 4 degrees recorded at Muzaffarnagar.Fog threw normal life out of gear in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Monday affecting air, rail and road traffic as the mercury plummeted sharply in the region on New Year’s Eve.

Early morning dense fog reduced visibility to just a few metres affecting air, rail and road traffic in the two States, official said here.

While most of the flights from Chandigarh were cancelled or re-scheduled in view of low visibility, several trains passing through the plains of Punjab and Haryana were running hours behind schedule.

Serpentine queues of vehicles could be seen moving slowly on highways due to the dense fog.

Besides foggy conditions, the minimum temperature sharply fell in the region as the mercury hovered between four degrees below normal to one notch above normal in several parts of Punjab and Haryana, the weatherman said.

Tripping of power supply and low pressure of water further aggravated to the woes of the people of the region, officials said.

In the plains of Punjab and Haryana, Narnaul braved the lowest temperature with a low of 1.9 degrees Celsius, which was four notches below normal.

While Bhiwani settled at a low of 3.6 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature at Hisar and Karnal was an identical 5.4 degrees Celsius, one notch each below normal.

Patiala settled at a low of 5.8 degrees Celsius, one notch below normal, followed by 5.8 degrees Celsius at Ludhiana, also one notch below normal, Amritsar 6 degrees Celsius, Chandigarh 6.4 degrees Celsius, one notch below normal and 6.8 degrees Celsius at Ambala, one notch above normal.

The mercury dipped in Rajasthan with Churu recording a minimum temperature of 1.9 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal.

Sriganganagar, which was the coldest place in Rajasthan on Sunday recording 0.6 degree Celsius, recorded a minimum of 3.7 degrees on Monday, according to the weatherman. - PTI