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Cold wave grips North
Tribune News Service

Passengers wait at Terminal 1D of the Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi on Monday. A Tribune photograph

New Delhi, December 19
As the plains of northern India reeled under intense cold wave and dense fog, a ray of sunshine came from the Met office, which today said intensity and duration of the blinding fog would reduce from December 23. The IMD also predicted that minimum temperatures would also rise by 2-3°C over north-west, central and east India during next 2-3 days, leading to abatement of cold wave conditions from parts of north-west India.

The IMD says that cold conditions would continue to prevail over many parts of Uttar Pradesh and also develop over some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi from today onward. Dense to very dense fog would continue to prevail over UP, Bihar and many parts of Haryana, Delhi and Punjab during next 2-3 days.

Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are among the other states badly affected by the cold wave. The stations that observed minimum temperatures at 4°C or less at 8.30 am today included Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Karnal, Hisar, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Narnaul, Ganganagar, Churu, Delhi, Fatehgarh, Khajuraho and Umaria. In plains, the lowest minimum temperature of -0.4° C was recorded at Adampur (Punjab).

While cold weather would continue for a number of days, some respite from fog can be expected toward the end of the week.