Biting cold leaves trail of misery in North India

The intense cold wave conditions accompanied by snowfall have left 24 people dead in Uttarakhand.

Officials from the area said that since Tuesday two people had died in Haldwani, three in Nainital, six in Bhimtal and Bageshwar and another 13 had died in the Kumaon region. 

The mercury levels in the area have dipped sharply and the area has witnessed temperatures between 1 degree Celsius and minus 4 degree Celsius.

Icy winds from Uttarakhand swept through neighbouring Uttar Pradesh; its capital city of Lucknow was the coldest place as it recorded 6.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, way below the normal.

In other areas of the North too, people have been struggling with the cold. 

The cold weather in Rajasthan continued to affect lives where over 9 trains were delayed and a man was found dead in Jaipur.

An unidentified body of a 40-year-old man was found in Jalupura area on Thursday morning, police said, adding that the post-mortem reports would reveal whether the man was a victim of cold.

The capital city of Jaipur experienced winter’s lowest temperature of 5.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night, the meteorological department said.

Even in the nation’s capital, chilly and breezy conditions prevailed in the national capital with minimum temperature settling at 9.2 degrees Celsius, which was a notch above normal.

Leh and Kargil, in the frontier Ladakh region, recorded the lowest temperatures of the season so far with the mercury plunging more than 14 degrees below the freezing point as Kashmir division continued to experience sub-zero nights.

The minimum temperature in Leh fell to bone-chilling minus 14.6 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, registered a minimum temperature of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius.

Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir and the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, recorded a minimum of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius.

The MeT office has said the weather would remain cold and dry in the state for the next 24 hours, while there was a possibility of isolated light rain and snow on December 21 and 22. 

-- With inputs from PTI