The Hindu : New Delhi News : Mercury touches 7-year low in Kolkata

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Wednesday, Jan 12, 2011
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New Delhi

Mercury touches 7-year low in Kolkata

With 13 more succumbing to the cold, toll in Uttar Pradesh touches 100

— Photo: NISSAR AHMAD

SNOW ALL THE WAY: Kashmiri men pull toboggans at the Gulmarg ski resort.

New Delhi: Bone-chilling cold continued to sting eastern and northern India on Tuesday with the mercury nosediving to a seven-year low in Kolkata and killing 13 more people in Uttar Pradesh.

The West Bengal capital recorded a temperature of 9.9 degrees Celsius, while Darjeeling hill station, at minus 1, was the coldest in the State. A cold wave alert has been sounded in 10 districts.

Severe cold claimed more lives in U.P., taking the Statewide toll this winter to 100.

While three deaths each were reported from the Barabanki and Balrampur districts, two were reported from Kaushambi and one each from Chitrakoot, Basti, Orai, Sant Kabirnagar and Bareilly.

Agra at 1 degree was the coldest place in the State.

The chill intensified in Bihar as north-westerly winds continued to sweep the region, prompting the State Government to announce closure of all schools till January 14. Gaya, at minimum 3.9 degree, was the coldest in the State.

Low temperature coupled with icy winds made life miserable for Delhi residents with the minimum temperature settling below the normal level. However, there was no dense fog in the city and flight operations were normal at the Indira Gandhi International airport.

The Kashmir Valley received a fresh spell of snow even as the minimum temperature across the region rose by 7 degrees. Save for Qazigund, snowfall was recorded in the entire Valley, which lasted a couple of hours.

The minimum temperature in Srinagar went up by 2 degree to settle at 0 degree.

The Ladakh region continued to reel under an intense cold wave even as the minimum temperature in Leh town appreciated by five notches to settle at minus 15.2 degrees.

The mercury plunged by 0.2 degree in Kargil, which recorded a low of minus 16.

The Gulmarg skiing resort, at minus 8.7 degrees, was the coldest place in the Kashmir Valley.

There was some relief from intense cold in Rajasthan as the mercury rose by a few degrees in most parts of the State. Sriganganagar at 0.4 degree was the coldest in the State.

There was no relief from the biting chill in Punjab and Haryana, with minimum temperature in most parts of the States plunging down to three points below normal.

The mercury hovered between 1 and 3 degrees below normal in most parts of the region and a thick blanket of fog continued to play havoc, reducing visibility which resulted in late running of several trains.

Amritsar in Punjab was the coldest place in the plains of the region, while Narnaul in Haryana shivered at 2.

In Chandigarh, bright sunshine provided some relief from foggy weather that had been prevailing in the city for the past few days.

The cold wave sweeping high-altitude areas in Himachal Pradesh continued unabated even as day temperatures rose marginally in mid and lower hills.. — PTI

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