Dense fog claims life in Raj, disrupts rail, air services in Delhi

New Delhi: Chillai Kalan, the harshest winter period in Kashmir, culminated on Monday even as cold conditions prevailed in northern India including Delhi where rail and air services were affected due to dense fog while a man died in a road mishap due to low visibility in Rajasthan.
Avalanche threat loomed large over tribal areas and other higher hills in Himachal Pradesh where people have been advised to restrict outdoor movement amid Keylong and Kalpa belt receiving 4 cm and 2 cm of fresh snow, while Rohtang Pass, Mari and Koksar had 10 to 15 cm of snow.
Windy conditions prevailed in the national capital where dense fog in the morning hours caused cancellation of eights flights and delay of 139 others, while 35 trains were running behind schedule.
The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average, while the maximum temperature settled at 22.5 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year.
Clouds continue to cover most parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar, even as the 40-day harshest winter period of 'Chillai Kalan' ended during which the Valley witnessed heaviest snowfall in two decades.
Twenty-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) begins even as mercury mostly stayed close to the freezing point at most of the places in Kashmir Division. Leh in Ladakh remained the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir with a low of minus 5.7 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in the Valley with a minimum of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius.
Srinagar, which was lashed by rains on Sunday night, recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius. Despite rains in plains and light snowfall in upper reaches, the one-way traffic on Srinagar-Jammu national highway was going on smoothly, while all flights scheduled for the day were operated with some delay due to bad weather in Delhi.
Punjab and Haryana were covered in a thick blanket of fog affected normal life at many places and impacted vehicular traffic in both the states.
Chandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, recorded a low of 9.2 degrees Celsius.
In Haryana, Ambala recorded a low of 9.7 degrees Celsius, while Hisar and Karnal's minimum settled at 7.1 and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively. In Punjab, Amritsar registered a low of 6.8 degrees Celsius, Ludhiana recorded a low of 8.3 degrees Celsius, while Patiala registered a low of 8.5 degrees Celsius.