Title - Cold wave unrelenting in North

The entire North India on Saturday continued to remain in the grip of severe cold which claimed 11 more lives in Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll this winter to 140.Delhi continued to shiver at a minimum of 2.9 degrees, four notches below normal, whereas the maximum temperature in the city plummeted by eight degrees below normal to settle at 12.6 degrees.The weatherman has forecast a foggy morning for Sunday.In Uttar Pradesh, officials said six persons died in Barabanki district due to cold, four died in Sultanpur and one in Etah district.Muzaffarnagar was the coldest place with a low of 0.3 degree Celsius, followed by Najibabad in Bijnor district with 1 degree.Agra recorded a low of 1.1 degrees, Ghazipur 1.5, Lucknow 1.8, Gorakhpur 2.4 and Kanpur 2.7 degrees Celsius.While maximum day temperatures were below normal by 6 to 13 degrees Celsius, the mercury fell in the night too to settle below normal in most parts of the State.In Uttarakhand, districts located in the higher reaches including Almora, Tehri Garhwal and Pithoragarh recorded sub-zero temperatures whereas the plains remained wrapped in thick fog cover.While Haldwani shivered at 2 degrees Celsius, mercury in Dehra Dun dropped from Friday’s 4.1 degrees Celsius to settle at 3.6 degrees despite a sunny day.Cold wave conditions prevailed over the entire Kashmir Valley, with Srinagar recording the coldest night of the season at minus 5.4 degrees.

Fringes of the famous Dal Lake and other water bodies in the city got frozen due to a fall in the night temperature over the past couple of days, bringing hardship to both the inhabitants and the shikarawalas.

Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the coldest place in the Valley with a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, said the weatherman.

Pahalgam hill resort, which also serves as base camp during the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 5.4 degrees.

Rajasthan too remained in the grip of biting cold, with the mercury in the famous hill resort of Mount Abu settling at minus 1 degree Celsius, followed by Fatehpur, which shivered at zero degree Celsius.

Bikaner and Pilani recorded a low of 0.4 degree Celsius while mercury in Karauli and Nagaur plummeted to 0.6 and 0.7 degree Celsius respectively.

Normal life was affected in Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, too, where temperatures fell sharply by up to five notches below normal.

Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place with a minimum of zero degree, down five degrees below normal.

Dense fog and mist descended over the region affecting rail, road and air traffic.

While Chandigarh shivered at 4 degrees, down one degree below normal, Hisar recorded a minimum of 1.5 degrees, dipping by 4 notches below normal.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh also remained in the grip of cold. Naogaon and Chhatarpur were the coldest places over the weekend with a minimum temperature of 0.8 degree.