Chill factor: Rail, air traffic in North hit; Haryana schools shut

Tribune News Service & Agencies

New Delhi, December 22

Intense cold coupled with dense fog played havoc in the region today, affecting road and rail traffic, and virtually paralysing flight operations in Delhi.

Dense fog threw normal life out of gear in most parts of Punjab and Haryana. The Haryana Government decided to shut all schools in the state on December 23 and 24 in view of the cold wave, an official spokesman said in Chandigarh.

Karnal was the coldest place in the state recording a minimum temperature of 3.6 °C. Hisar also reeled under intense cold recording a low of 5.6 °C.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 5.4 °C, while Patiala’s minimum settled at 5.8 °C. Chandigarh’s night temperature settled at 7.6 °C, according to the MeT department.

In the national capital, the minimum temperature plunged to 4.2 °C, the coldest December 22 in the past five years.

Flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport were paralysed for six hours in the morning, delaying over 173 flights, as visibility dropped below 50 metres. Similar situations prevailed in many other airports in the north including in Jaipur, where 10 flights, including four international services, were delayed.

Train services were also affected largely across North India with more than 70 trains running behind schedule by several hours causing great inconvenience to passengers.

High altitude tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh and mountain passes experienced another spell of moderate snowfall while icy winds swept the region.

The Dhauladhar range in Kangra, Churdhar in Sirmaur, and Rohtang and Chansel passes and other high altitude areas had another spell of moderate snowfall today.

Minimum temperatures dropped by a few notches in tribal areas and Keylong and Kalpa recorded a low of -4.3 and -0.6 °C, respectively. Manali shivered at zero degree against -3.5 °C yesterday. The minimum in Dharamsala was 5.2 °C and Shimla 6.2 °C.