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North freezes under cold wave, two more die in U.P.

Adampur in Punjab coldest in plains at minus 3.8 degrees Celsius

Shimla: The biting cold wave sweeping mid and higher hills of Himachal Pradesh continued unabated on Saturday as night temperatures registered a further drop.

Thick ground frost occurred at several places and water pipes were frozen in upper areas here and in the higher hills.

The city recorded a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature also recorded marginal decrease at 8.1 degrees Celsius.

The night temperature dipped to minus 1.9 degrees at Sundernagar and minus 1.3 degrees at Bhuntar while it dipped to 6.6 degrees Celsius below freezing point at Kalpa in Kinnaur.

The tribal valleys of Lahaul, Spiti, Pangi and Pin reeled under the freezing cold with the mercury hovering between minus 15 and minus 30 degrees Celsius.

All lakes, springs, rivulets and tributaries of snowfed rivers in high altitude tribal areas have been frozen for the past one month, resulting in sharp decrease in discharge of water.

Power generation in major hydel projects, including the 1500 mw Nathpa-Jhakri project and 300 mw Baspa stage-II project, are badly affected and have dropped to 15 per cent due to insufficient discharge of water in Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers.

Biting cold in Rajasthan

Jaipur: Severe cold wave affected normal life in Rajasthan on Saturday with Mount Abu, where the mercury dipped to the freezing point for the first time in the season, being the coldest in the State.

Sriganganagar recorded a minimum of 0.3 degree Celsius, Churu 4.3 degree C, Barmer 5.8 degree C, Udaipur 6.5 degree C, Jaisalmer 6.8 degree C, Dholpur 7.5 degree C, Dabok 7.8 degree C, Jaipur 8.5 degree C, Bikaner 9.4 degree C, Ajmer 9.0 degree C, Sawaimadhopur 10 degree C, Bundi 11 degree C, Jodhpur 10.3 degree C, Kota 12 degree C, Jhalawar 12.6 degree C and Ravatbhata 13 degree Celsius.

U.P. death toll 40

Lucknow: Two persons died due to severe cold in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, taking the toll this winter to 40, officials said here.

One person each died in Jaunpur and Siddharthnagar districts, they said. Allahabad was the coldest place in the State at 5.2 degree Celsius followed by Gorakhpur at 5.5 degree Celsius, Met officials said.

The city recorded a minimum temperature of 6.4 degree C, while the minimum at Bahraich was 5.8 degree C.

The Met department has predicted rains in some parts of the State on Sunday, which could intensify the cold wave.

Meanwhile, road and rail traffic was severely affected due to fog. A number of trains were running behind schedule, officials said.

Mercury below zero

Chandigarh: Piercing cold froze most places in Punjab on Saturday as minimum temperatures dropped below zero making people shiver under the severe chill.

Adampur suffered the maximum onslaught of the current spell of cold wave. The minimum there plummeted to minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, six degrees below the normal.

As minimum temperatures continued their downward trend at many places in the region for the fourth consecutive day, Ludhiana was the second coldest place in the State, registering a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, a record seven degrees below normal range, the Meteorological Department said here.

Many people in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala restricted themselves indoors to remain warm. At Amritsar, the minimum touched minus 1.3 C, five below normal. Patiala had no relief either as the minimum plunged to 0.2 C, seven below normal.

While most places in Punjab registered their coldest night of the season so far, Chandigarh too remained unspared from the cold spell.

Chandigarh witnessed its coldest day of the season so far as minimum dropped to 0.0 degree Celsius, seven below normal. Many places in Haryana were also under the influence of biting cold. Ambala registered a low of 1.4 C, six below normal.

Karnal reeled under severe cold at 2 degree Celsius, five below normal while Narnaul had a low of 3 degree Celsius.

PTI

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North freezes under cold wave, two more die in U.P.

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