Water bodies freeze in Kashmir as cold weather persists in North India

New Delhi: Cold weather conditions continued in northern parts of the country with most of Kashmir Valley recording sub-zero temperatures, even as mercury plummeted to single digit in parts of eastern coastal state of Odisha, affecting normal life.
Delhi witnessed another chilly day with shallow foggy conditions in the morning affecting the movement of 35 trains, 26 of which got delayed due to poor visibility. The minimum temperature settled at 7.2 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was recorded at 23 degrees Celsius. In Jammu and Kashmir, sub-zero temperatures have resulted in freezing of water supply lines in many areas of the Valley, while fringes of several other water bodies were also frozen. Srinagar, at minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, experienced its coldest night of the season, while Leh, in Ladakh region of the state, registered a minimum of minus 12 degrees Celsius.
However, there was some relief in the cold conditions in the parts of the Valley and Ladakh region as the night temperature went up slightly.
In Punjab and Haryana, the minimum temperatures hovered around season’s normal in most places, even as dense fog affected normal life and hit vehicular movement at several places in both states.
Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place in both states as it recorded temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, registered minimum at 7 degrees Celsius.
In Himachal Pradesh, intense cold wave conditions persisted as mercury stayed below normal and dry cold spell continued in spite of heavily overcast sky. State capital Shimla recorded a maximum temperature of 19 degrees Celsius.
The high-altitude tribal areas continued to reel under biting cold wave conditions with minimum temperatures staying below the freezing point, while Keylong and Kalpa in Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded a low of minus 1.9 and minus 1 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The mercury dropped in part’s of Odisha, with Phulbani in Kandhamal district recording the lowest temperature this season so far at 5 degrees Celsius.
Reports of fishes and birds found dead due to the cold were received from different parts of the district, particularly from the high-altitude areas of the region. Bihar witnessed a sunny day, with temperatures rising markedly in some places.
While Patna recorded a maximum temperature of 26.2 degrees Celsius, Sabor in Bhagalpur district remained the state’s coldest at 8 degrees Celsius. (PTI)