By IRNA,
New Delhi : The toll in the current spell of cold wave in north India has climbed to 195 with 38 more deaths. Intense cold in Uttar Pradesh left 31 more persons dead in different districts. Agra, which recorded 5.4 degree Celsius, was coldest place in the state.
In Bihar, seven more cold related deaths occurred taking the toll in the state to 21.
Dense fog affected rail, road and air traffic in the region. Visibility was considerably reduced in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and the National capital Delhi. All incoming and outgoing flights from Chandigarh stood cancelled for the fourth day on Wednesday.
Railways cancelled 19 trains till January 31 in view of the prevailing foggy weather conditions in North India. The decision came as poor visibility again hampered train movement, with over three dozen trains arriving New Delhi several hours behind schedule and 16 trains being rescheduled.
Sources in the Northern Railway said “leaves and weekly rest” of all commercial staff have been cancelled for the coming fortnight “keeping in mind the gravity of the situation.”
A number of road accidents have been reported due to dense fog in the national capital and adjoining areas.
Cold wave has also spread its wings to North Eastern part of the country.
Across the region fog and mist in the mornings has reduced visibility to a few metres. The mercury in several parts of the Northeastern areas is dipping further under the influence of the combined easterly and north-easterly winds prevailing in the region.
Manipur is in the grip of a severe cold wave and the temperatures are likely to go down in the coming days. The coldest recorded temperature this winter is in Imphal, the capital of Manipur with the mercury touching 2.4 degrees Celsius on December 30.
The usually frost-bitten Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state had a minimum temperature of 3.6 degrees Celsius on January 1.
In Tripura, cold winds have pushed down temperatures in the state. A cold spell is also sweeping through Mizoram and Barak Valley of Assam. In Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, too, severe cold has forced people indoors for most part of the day.
According to D. Handique, the director of the Regional Meteorological Centre at Borjhar in Guwahati, the temperatures will dip further in the next few days in the region.
An expert on climactic changes at the Regional Meteorological Centre said the severity has been felt this time because of the fact that global warming has pushed average temperatures by three or four degrees over the past decade.