The Hindu : Front Page : Winter chill back in the Capital

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Monday, Jan 21, 2008
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Winter chill back in the Capital

Staff Reporter

Amritsar reels under a low of - 0.4 degrees Celsius

Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

Icy nip is back in air .

NEW DELHI: Just when Delhiites were warming up to the idea of the winter chill beating a quiet retreat, the weather on Sunday did a U-turn bringing the icy nip back to the air. In a marked departure from the relatively warmer temperatures recorded earlier this past week, the mercury on Sunday dipped to 6.4 degrees Celsius which was one degree below normal. This followed a minimum of 7.5 degrees Celsius recorded on Saturday and preceded by a minimum of 14 degrees Celsius on Friday.

Confirming the weather blues in store for the Capital in the coming days, the weatherman has forecast a minimum temperature of 5 degrees on Monday along with a mainly clear sky and cold winds during the day.

“The dip in temperature could be attributed to the influence of the north-west winds,” said a Meteorological Department official. “This change in temperature follows snowing in the northern most States and the blowing of cold north-west winds from there towards Delhi. The cold is likely to prevail at least for the next two days.”

“After the warm spell of the past few days, I was on the verge of packing my woollens away. However, the cold has returned with a vengeance and so have the woollens,” said Tanmay Goel, a software engineer who spend his Sunday at home huddled around the heater. A college-goer, Nitin Saxena, had to pay a heavy price for taking the weather lightly. “I went for my tuitions without being properly clad thinking that the winter was all but over. But the icy winds sent me scurrying for cover in no time.”

The British Broadcasting Corporation website has also forecast that the winter chill is here to stay. The minimum temperature on Monday as well as Tuesday is expected to settle at 6 degrees Celsius, it said.

PTI and Staff Correspondent add:

Chandigarh: Cold conditions renewed in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Sunday as the minimum temperature fell sharply by about six notches with Amritsar recording sub zero temperature in the region. The minimum temperature hovered between -1 to -4 degrees Celsius in most parts of plains of Punjab and Haryana, the Met department said here. Amritsar reeled under a low of - 0.4 degrees Celsius, four degrees below normal making it the coldest place in the region.

Death toll 10

Shimla: The death toll in Himachal Pradesh due to extreme cold conditions has risen to 10 with death of two more people while clearing snow in Kinnaur district of the State, the official sources said here on Sunday. Two labourers were buried alive in a landslide in two separate incidents in the district while clearing snow at Tapri and Pangi Nullah on Saturday, the sources said. Meanwhile, Shimla town recorded the coldest night of this winter season at zero degree Celsius on Sunday.

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