Title - Weather woes: Cold wave grips Punjab, Chandigarh records coldest day in history

The Union Territory of Chandigarh today recorded its coldest day in history with a maximum temperature at 6.1 degrees Celsius, as piercing cold conditions swept Punjab and Haryana.As a thick blanket of fog continued to disrupt normal life in most parts of the states, today's bone-chilling cold was reflected in Punjab and Haryana's joint capital with its maximum temperature plunging to 6.1 degrees Celsius, a record 15 degrees below normal.A MeT official told PTI that the previous lowest maximum recorded in Chandigarh was on January 6, 2011, when it had registered 7.4 degrees Celsius.Icy winds assailed the city, which remained engulfed in fog.Chandigarh also recorded its coldest night in four years as the minimum dropped to 2.1 degrees Celsius, down four notches.While primary schools here are closed this week, children of higher classes went as per schedule by braving the extreme weather.All flights remained grounded in the city."No flights could take off or land due to poor visibility," Airport Director H S Toor said.Maximum temperatures dropped between 9-12 notches at other places in the region too, including Amritsar (7.4 degrees Celsius) and Ludhiana (9.5 degrees Celsius).The cold temperatures saw many people lighting fires along roadsides and sipping hot beverages to keep themselves warm. The MeT office held out hope by saying slight relief can be expected by Thursday.Narnaul in Haryana reeled under extremely cold conditions too by recording a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius, followed by minus 1.4 in Bathinda, Punjab, with both temperatures settling below normal by eight and nine notches each.Hisar recorded a low of 0.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, the weather office said here.Piercing cold conditions prevailed in Bhiwani, which registered a low of 0.5 degrees Celsius, down three notches, while Ambala, too, experienced a cold night at 3 degrees Celsius, down two notches.There was no relief from the ongoing cold wave in Punjab. Adampur, recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius, followed by Amritsar, where the minimum settled at 1.8 degrees Celsius, down one degree.Patiala and Ludhiana also reeled under biting cold, recording below normal minimums of 2.4 degrees Celsius and 2.7 degrees Celsius.Severe cold in the region for the past few days has claimed 13 lives in Punjab and four in Haryana.Unscheduled power cuts have taken place at many places in the region.In the wake of dense fog, air, rail and road traffic in the region has also been affected.According to the Director of Chandigarh's MeT office, Surinder Paul, relief from fog and cold temperatures can be expected by Thursday."The intensity and duration of the fog will be much less after 3-4 days. Though cold conditions will prevail, but maximum temperatures, which have been hovering 6-9 degrees below normal, should witness a slight increase. The minimum temperatures, too, are likely to increase marginally," he said.Meanwhile, Narnaul's minimum temperature recorded today was the lowest since 1969, a MeT official said.The MeT here has forecast that cold wave and cold-day conditions accompanied by dense fog in some parts would prevail over Haryana and Punjab during the next two days.Ground frost is also likely to occur at a few places in the two states until Wednesday.