M A I N   N E W S

Ambala coldest at 2.3° C

Chandigarh, January 3
Fog played spoilsport again today causing disruptions in rail, road and air traffic for over a week in the northern region as cold wave showed little signs to abate and further tightened its grip at several places in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, but the maximum temperatures increased by a few degrees providing some relief to the people from biting cold.

The people in the city reeled under severe cold with the low dropping to 4.4°C, which was three degrees below normal, a weather bureau official said. However, the day was warm with the sun shining and maximum reaching 21°C.

People in Ambala, too, braved a cold night with the low dropping to 2.3°C, down by five degrees.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, has been braving some really cold weather for about a week now. The minimum today dropped to five degrees below the freezing point, intensifying the cold wave. The day, however, provided some warmth at 12.2°C, the official said. Jammu, too, had a cold night with the low dropping to 4.3°C, down by four degrees.

Punjab, Amritsar, Patiala and Ludhiana saw the minimum dropping by a few degrees from the normal. Amritsar had a low of 2.7°C, down by one degree, Ludhiana 3.9°C, down by two and Patiala was coldest in Punjab with a minimum of 2.4°C, down by five degrees. The day temperatures at these places recorded, respectively, were 13.2°C, 18.2°C and 19°C.

In Himachal, Bhuntar froze with the low dropping to minus -0.2°C and Sundernagar recorded a low of -0.1°C. Shimla, too, had a cold night with the low dropping to 4.8°C.

The fog continued to disrupt normal life as reports of thick fog were received from Amritsar, Adampur, Halwara and Bathinda in Punjab, Ambala, Sirsa in Haryana and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, the Met office sources here said.

Indian Airlines flight to the city which was scheduled to arrive here in the afternoon had to be cancelled due to bad weather.

The Northern Railways had yesterday announced the cancellations of many trains, including Shan-e-Punjab. The trains to destinations in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh reached late by several hours due to the fog.

Trains coming via Delhi were reported running at a snail’s pace due to thick fog. PTI