New Delhi: Frigid temperatures claimed two more lives in Uttar Pradesh as the cold wave, gripping North India, on Monday tightened its grip with dense fog playing havoc again throwing in disarray road, rail and air traffic.

Two fresh deaths occurred in Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh mounting the Statewide toll to 29 since the onset of winter chill, officials in Lucknow said.

Allahabad, where saints had congregated for the Ardh Kumbh Mela, was the coldest place in the State with mercury plunging to a low of 5.3 degrees Celsius.

Sultanpur recorded a low of 6.3 degrees Celsius as the State Government directed all district authorities to distribute blankets to the poor.

Dense fog enveloped many areas in the state severely hitting road and rail traffic. A number of trains ran several hours behind schedule.

Fog engulfs Jaipur

Jaipur: Though the intense cold wave abated with the dawn of New Year, the chilly weather and fog continued to affect the normal life in Rajasthan where Sriganganagar was the coldest at 4.5 degree Celsius on Saturday night.

Jaipur, engulfed with fog, recorded the second lowest minimum temperature of 5.6 degree C, a met official said.

Whereas people in Churu had respite from intense icy weather as mercury rose to 7 degree C.

This was followed by Udaipur and Jaisalmer 9 degree C each.

There will be a slight change in the temperature in next 24 hours as no particular weather system prevails, a forecast said.

Sunny day in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: The cold wave that has been sweeping most parts of Punjab and Haryana persisted on Monday, with fog again affecting normal life in the region.

Amritsar witnessed biting cold conditions with the minimum temperature dropping to 2 degrees Celsius, 2 below normal.

Ludhiana and Patiala had no relief from the cold either, with both towns recording respective lows of 3.9 and 5.2 degrees C, the Meteorological Department has said here.

In Haryana, Ambala residents braved the chill at 3.9 degrees C, down 3 degrees. Karnal and Narnaul also witnessed a cold night, recording respective minimums of 5.5 and 4.5 degrees.

Chandigarh had a sunny day but there was haze in the morning. However, there was no relief from the cold, as the minimum temperature settled at 4.2 degrees C, 2 degrees below normal.

Fog reduced visibility to zero early on Monday morning at places like Amritsar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Halwara, Bathinda and Sirsa. - PTI

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