New Delhi, December 29
The entire North India continued to remain in the grip of severe cold with 13 more people succumbing to the chill in Uttar Pradesh, even as the mercury went up by a few notches in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

Delhiites basked under a sunny day today with the sky remaining clear for most part of the day after a misty morning.

Both maximum and minimum temperatures remained a degree above normal to settle at 21.4 and 8.5 degree Celsius respectively against yesterday's 19 and 6.3 degrees. The Met office forecasts mainly a clear sky with mist or fog in the morning for tomorrow.

Uttar Pradesh, however, continued to reel under biting cold with 13 more persons dying in the state, taking the toll this winter to 62.

While four persons lost their lives in Hathras district, three died in Kanpur Dehat, followed by two each in Mirzapur and Lalitpur and one each in Chitrakoot and Banda districts.

Muzaffarnagar and Kanpur City remained the coldest places with each recording a minimum of 2 degrees, Met sources said.

Night temperature remained to hover below normal in most parts of the state, dipping by as much as 6 to 11 degrees. In Himachal also, night temperatures plummeted in the mid and lower hills and hovered around freezing point.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district remained the coldest place with a low of minus 4 degrees, followed by Kalpa in Kinnaur district with minus 2.6 degree Celsius.

While Solan and Manali recorded minimums of 1 and 1.6 degrees, Shimla and Sundernagar settled at 3 degrees, Met sources said, adding that Lahaul and Spiti, Rohtang and Kunzam Passes had another spell of moderate snowfall.

Cold wave swept entire Rajasthan too, where Sri Ganganagar shivered at 1.6 degree Celsius followed by Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Churu and Pilani with minimums of 4.4, 5.7, 5.9 and 6.7 degrees.

In Punjab and Haryana, fog threw life out of gear in most parts, even as mercury went up by up to three notches above normal in most parts of the two states.

Rail and road traffic remaining affected, causing inconvenience to commuters. Later, as visibility improved, flights from Chandigarh to various states resumed, though with minor delay, officials said. Narnaul continued to be the coldest place in the region with a minimum of 4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

Hisar, Ambala and Bhiwani in Haryana had a low of 6.6, 7.8 and 5.6 degrees Celsius respectively. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a minimum of 6.6 degrees, up by three notches above normal while Ludhiana and Patiala had low of 7.9 and 8.5 degrees respectively. — PTI