North India in grip of cold; J&K’s harshest winter period begins

Chandigarh/Shimla/Srinagar, December 21

Most parts of north India reeled under severe cold wave today as dense fog nearly blinded Punjab and Haryana, and the Meteorological Department predicted more rain and snow in Himachal. The 40-day period of harshest winter in Kashmir Valley, known as Chillai-Kalan, also began today with predictions of widespread rains and isolated snowfall over the next 24 hours.

The air, rail and road traffic remained adversely affected with temperatures plummeting to below normal limits in the entire region.

“A thick blanket of fog with visibility less than 350 metre in entire Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh almost blinded the region,” the MeT office said.

The morning flights from Chandigarh Airport were cancelled, while several trains criss-crossing the region, including Shan-e-Punjab, Shatabdi, Paschim express and Kalka express, ran hours behind schedule, officials said. The MeT Department forecasts fall in the day and night temperatures in the region in days ahead with no respite from fog.

The minimum temperatures hovered between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius below normal in the region as chilling conditions confined people indoors. Narnaul was the coldest with a low of 1.6 degrees, while Hisar settled at 1.8 and Amritsar at 3.8 degrees Celsius. Bhiwani shivered at five degrees Celsius, followed by 6 degrees at Ambala and 7.4 degrees at Chandigarh. Chillai-Kalan, which begins with Winter Solstice, began with minimum temperatures rising by several degrees in Kashmir even though they continued to remain below freezing point, increasing the chances of snowfall in the region. The minimum temperature increased by over 2 degrees in Srinagar as the city recorded a low of minus 1.8 degree Celsius, a spokesman for the MeT office said.

Pahalgam in south Kashmir registered a low of minus 2.4 degree Celsius and Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 2.8 degree Celsius.

In Himachal, mercury in tribal areas and higher hills stayed 15 to 20 degrees below freezing point, while Keylong, Manali and Kalpa recorded a low of minus 7 degrees, minus 3 degrees and minus 1.6 degrees Celsius, respectively. — PTI