North India reels under cold; dense fog claims 5 lives, affects rail operations

New Delhi: Dense fog shrouded parts of the north Indian states of Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday where five persons died in separate mishaps due to poor visibility, even as Kashmir division reeled under sub-zero temperatures.
Shallow foggy conditions were witnessed in the national capital in the morning leading to cancellation of 22 trains.
The city recorded a minimum of 10.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the normal, while the maximum temperature stood at 24.2 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average.
A senior railway official said rail traffic was hit because of foggy weather conditions.
However, flight operations were reported normal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Five persons, including three college students, were killed in separate road mishaps in Punjab and Haryana due to poor visibility as dense fog shrouded parts of the two states affecting normal life.
The weatherman said fog reduced visibility at many places in the states including Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Karnal, Panipat, Gurugram and Faridabad and affected rail, road and air traffic in the region.
Chandigarh recorded a low of 9.9 degrees Celsius, Ambala 11.6 degrees, Karnal 10.2 degrees and Hisar 10.3 degrees Celsius, the MeT department said.
Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab registered respective minimum temperatures of 6.8, 10.4 and 11.4 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Kashmir division reeled under sub-zero minimum temperatures as Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place at minus 10.9 degrees Celsius.
"Leh recorded a low of minus 10.9 degrees Celsius last night. Kargil town, also in Ladakh region, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius," an official of the MeT department told PTI.
He said Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius - down from previous night's minus 0.5 degree Celsius.
The official said Pahalgam which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra shivered at a low minus 5.3 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night's minus 4.9 degrees Celsius.
Mount Abu in Rajasthan was the coldest in the state at 6 degrees Celsius.
The capital city of Jaipur recorded a maximum of 26.7 degrees and the minimum at 14.7 degrees Celsius.
Cold wave conditions continued in Bihar with the capital city of Patna recording a minimum temperature of 9.6 degrees and a maximum of 17.9 degrees Celsius. Services of many trains under East Central Railway (ECR) zone remained affected due to fog.