Cold wave unabated in North India, 24 more die

Plummeting mercury, coupled with thick fog cover, threw normal life out of gear in the entire North India today, with 24 more people succumbing to the chill in various parts of the region.

While 20 more persons died in Uttar Pradesh, four persons lost their lives in Uttarakhand, officials said.

Delhi continued to shiver as mercury was below normal in the city by five notches to settle at 2.4 degrees, even as it rose from yesterday's 1.9 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature too dipped to seven degrees below normal to settle at 13.4 degrees Celsius.

Met department forecasts a clear sky for tomorrow with fog in the morning.

In Uttar Pradesh, six people lost their lives in Ghazipur, three each in Azamgarh and Barabanki, two each in Fatehpur, Sultanpur and Chandauli and one each in Jaunpur and Siddhartnagar districts.

With this, the death toll in the state this winter has risen to 175.

Muzaffarnagar, which shivered at minus 0.7 degrees Celsius, continued to be the coldest place in the state.

Agra recorded 0.6 degrees Celsius, Najibabad (Bijnor) 1.0, Lucknow and Aligarh 1.4 each and Kheri 1.6 degrees Celsius, the Met department said.

The entire state was in the grip of biting cold as maximum temperatures too remained below normal by seven to 15 notches in most parts.

In Uttarakhand, four women succumbed to the chill in Haridwar, where the minimum temperature touched one degree Celsius.

Tehri district was the coldest at 0.5 degrees Celsius followed by Mukteshwar at 0.4 and Pithoragarh at 0.2 degrees.

Capital Dehradun also shivered at 1.3 degrees Celsius.

Union Territory of Chandigarh witnessed its coldest day in history, with the maximum temperature plunging to as low as 6.1 degrees Celsius, a record 15 notches below normal.

Hisar in Haryana was the coldest place in the region with a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, followed by Bhiwani with 0.5 and Narnaul with 3 degrees.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Pawar to seek special package for state

China incursion: Both sides withdraw troops from Daulat Beg Oldi sector

Sonia Gandhi consults A K Antony on Pawan Bansal issue

Coalgate probe: No accused or suspect let off, says CBI chief Ranjit Sinha