By IANS,
New Delhi : A cold wave swept over north and east India Sunday throwing life out of gear. While several places witnessed disruption in flight and train services, in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand a number of deaths were reported due to the intense cold.
According to the disaster management department of Uttar Pradesh, as many as 14 people died in different parts of the state Saturday and Sunday because of the cold.
“The 14 deaths have been reported from many districts, including Banda, Bhadohi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur and Varanasi,” the official of the disaster management department told IANS.
The lowest minimum temperature of five degrees Celsius was recorded in the state’s Shahjahanpur district Sunday, followed by Lucknow where the minimum temperature was 7.4 degrees Celsius. It is forecast that the fog and cold wave condition would persist in the state for at least two more days.
A total of 13 people lost their lives in Jharkhand because of the intense winter chill.
“The cold wave and the dipping mercury have claimed 13 lives in the state. Four people died in Ranchi and three each died in Hazaribagh and Dhanbad. Deaths were also reported from Bokaro, Garwah and Jamshedpur,” an official told IANS.
In parts of the state, like the Kanke area of Ranchi, the minimum temperature dipped to 2.2 degrees Celsius and in Mckluskieganj, the minimum temperature recorded was two degrees Celsius.
Cold wave swept parts of Orissa Sunday with Phulbani town in Kandhamal district recording a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the state this winter, an official said.
In Bihar too, the condition was similar. Muzaffarpur district recorded a minimum temperature of 6 degrees Celsius Sunday morning while it was 7 degrees in Purnea and Kishanganj.
In places like Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, there were light showers, adding to the winter chill.
Chatar Singh Malik, director of the Chandigarh Meteorological Centre, said: “Since (Sunday) morning, we have had moderate spells of rainfall in Chandigarh and various towns of Punjab and Haryana including Patiala, Amritsar, Nawanshahr, Ambala, Rohtak, Hisar and Karnal”.
“We expect isolated spells of rain to continue in the coming days. It could also lead to a sharp decline in the temperature, especially during nights.”
Amritsar in Punjab was the coldest in the region with a minimum temperature of minus 0.8 degree Celsius. However, Ludhiana and Patiala were comparatively warmer at 8.8 degrees Celsius and 10.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.
In Haryana, minimum temperatures at Ambala, Karnal and Hisar towns were 8.3 degrees Celsius, 9.5 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The national capital received 1 mm of rainfall Sunday, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said, adding the rainfall was generally because of the western disturbances and this time too because of the same over parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The minimum temperature in Delhi was 9.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the average. The maximum temperature was recorded at 15.3 degrees Celsius, seven degrees below the average.
Although the fog cleared as the day progressed in Delhi, several flight delays and cancellations were reported.
“At least six domestic flights, including ones to Amritsar, Srinagar and Leh, were cancelled due to poor weather at their respective destinations. Some international flights were delayed by a few hours around midnight due to dense fog at that time. Twelve domestic flights were also delayed,” an airport official said.
In Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, dense fog Sunday morning reduced the visibility to below 100 meters – delaying several trains and leaving hassled passengers stranded at railway stations.
However, in Himachal Pradesh, the residents seemed to have some respite from the cold wave that has swept other parts of north India.
“The cold wave receded in the state this (Sunday) morning with a rise in the minimum temperatures. However, rain and snowfall are likely in the next 24 hours with western disturbances approaching the region,” Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office, said.
Shimla recorded a minimum of 7.1 degrees Celsius, a rise of 0.5 degree from Saturday. On Friday, the city saw a low of 4.2 degrees Celsius.
Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district recorded a rise in the night temperature. It rose by 3.5 degrees from Saturday’s minus 11.8 degrees Celsius.