Cold wave prevails; dense fog affects life in Punjab, Haryana

CHANDIGARH: Cold wave conditions continued to prevail in Punjab and Haryana while dense fog engulfed most of the places in the region affecting the normal life.

The dense fog engulfed Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Hisar, Karnal and Ambala reducing visibility to up to 150 meters.

Foggy weather also affected the road, rail and air traffic in the region.

Shatabdi train between Delhi and Kalka via Chandigarh was running behind schedule by over one hour, while Himalyan Queen express between Delhi and Kalka and train between Bhiwani and Kalka were running late by over one hour each.

A flight between Delhi and Chandigarh was cancelled, while two flights between Delhi -Chandigarh and Bangalore-Chandigarh were also behind schedule by over two hours.

Amid bone-chilling cold conditions, Karnal in Haryana was the coldest place in the region with a minimum of 3 deg C, four notches below normal, MeT department report said today.

Narnaul recorded the second lowest mercury at 4 deg C, one degree below normal.

Ambala and Hisar experienced cold conditions at 4.5 deg C and 5.2 deg C, two notches below normal each, while Bhiwani had a low of 5.8 deg C.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded minimum at 5 deg C, while Patiala and Ludhiana had low of 4.3 deg C and 5.8 deg C, down by up to three degrees below normal.

UT Chandigarh had a low of 5.8 deg C, up by a degree above normal.