Punjab and Haryana were in the grip of a severe cold wave with the minimum temperature dipping to minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in Ballowal Saunkhri in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, the weather office said on Monday. Dense fog also enveloped many places in both the states.
Among other places in Punjab, Ludhiana recorded piercing cold at 1 degrees Celsius, which was 4.6 degrees below normal.
Patiala’s low was 3.2 degrees Celsius, 3.4 degrees below normal, while Amritsar recorded a minimum of 5.7 degrees Celsius.
Pathankot, Bathinda, Faridkot and Gurdaspur experienced the cold wave at 3.8, 2.2, 4.4 and 3.1 degrees Celsius respectively.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 3.6 degrees Celsius, which was 3.3 degrees below normal.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD’s) Chandigarh centre on Monday issued a red alert for a few places in Haryana amid prediction of severe cold conditions.
As per the department, the alert has been issued for Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Sonepat, Panipat, Sirsa, Fatehabad and Jind.
Weathermen have forecast “cold wave to severe cold wave/dense fog/cold day” for January 16, advising people to stay indoors and avoid outdoor activities in view of the extreme weather conditions.
{{/usCountry}}Weathermen have forecast “cold wave to severe cold wave/dense fog/cold day” for January 16, advising people to stay indoors and avoid outdoor activities in view of the extreme weather conditions.
{{/usCountry}}It has also issued a yellow alert for the rest of the state except Rohtak and Jhajjar.
As per the bulletin, there will be a gradual rise in minimum temperatures by 2-3 °C this week over the region, but the weather will remain dry.
The KVK station of Mahendragarh district was the coldest in the state with a minimum temperature of 0.4°C for the second time this season, while Fatehabad shivered with maximum temperature dropping to 11.8°C.