N India gets some respite from biting cold, toll rises to 385

Increase in night temperature in most parts of north India gave respite to people from biting cold today though the toll so far this season rose to 385.

Increase in night temperature in most parts of north India gave respite to people from biting cold today though the toll so far this season rose to 385.

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Some places in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh experienced sub-zero temperature even as a thick layer of fog affected over a dozen flights in the national capital.

All the fresh 19 casualties were reported overnight from Uttar Pradesh, which alone accounted for 356 deaths this winter.

The Kashmir valley and Ladakh region reeled under intense cold though people in Jammu got some relief as night temperature rose by a few notches.

Jammu recorded a low of 4.3 degrees Celcius, nearly four degrees below normal, against 3.8 deg C yesterday.

However, Srinagar recorded minus 3.6 deg C today - the same as yesterday. Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir continued to be the coldest place with a low of minus 5.3 deg C, while Kupwara recorded minus 3 deg C and Kokernag minus 1.7 deg C. Ladakh region faced intense cold at minus 16.6 deg C.

In the absence of rain or snow, mercury rose sharply in Shimla from 1.1 deg C yesterday to 4.5 deg C, though higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh continued to reel under sub-zero temperature.

Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 11.5 deg C while it was minus 4 deg C in Kapla in Kinnaur district.

Cold winds swept Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh with Amritsar being the coldest place in the region with a low of 1.4 deg C. In Chandigarh, mercury settled at 5.5 deg C. Both Ambala and Karnal in Haryana had a low of 5.6 deg C.