New Delhi: North India continued to freeze on Sunday with life across the region hit by bone-numbing cold and the toll climbing to well over 100 with at least 16 more people dying in Uttar Pradesh, officials said. The frigid conditions are expected to continue in the week ahead.
The mercury fell to minus 18 degrees in Leh town of Jammu and Kashmir, while several places, both in the hills and plains, experienced zero or lower temperatures as both maximum and minimum temperatures plummeted across the region and icy winds made things worse.
Transport was also hit with many flights and trains delayed by the dense fog.
In Delhi, the minimum temperature dipped to a five-year low at 1.9 degrees Celsius, and the maximum was nine notches below average at 11.8 degrees.
Fog delayed 68 flights, according to a statement from Delhi International Airport Limited. Over 70 trains were running behind schedule and 15 were cancelled due to dense fog, said a statement from Indian Railway.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Leh was followed by Kargil (minus 17.4 degrees Celsius), while the night temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital, was minus 4.6 degrees Celsius and 6.9 degrees in Jammu, the winter capital.
Frost in the Kashmir Valley and fog in Jammu disrupted traffic, with most trains reaching Jammu delayed and five flights were cancelled. Road traffic was also affected due to one-way traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.
Met officials have indicated that the cold wave conditions are likely to continue for most of the coming week. (IANS)
