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North India shivers in bitter cold, dense fog cripples rail movement; Check details

The national capital's minimum temperature dropped to a bone-chilling 1.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature in Delhi was lower than in most Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand locations.

Weather update: Delhi in grip of severe cold wave; 42 trains, 20 flights affected - adt
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First Published Jan 8, 2023, 12:24 PM IST

North and eastern parts of the country continue to witness severe cold and dense fog on Sunday morning, January 8, 2023. More than 480 trains were delayed due to the blinding layer of fog. The national capital's minimum temperature dropped to a bone-chilling 1.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi's minimum temperature was lower than most Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand places for the fourth consecutive day.

"Nearly 335 trains were delayed, 88 cancelled, 31 diverted, and 33 briefly terminated due to foggy weather," said the railway official. Additionally, the Delhi International Airport tweeted that flights, which are not CAT III complaint, might get affected. Official added that nearly 25 flights were delayed on Sunday morning. 

The IMD reported the visibility levels slipped to zero meters at Bhatinda and Agra, 25 metres at Patiala, Chandigarh, Hissar, Alwar, Pilani, Ganganagar, Lucknow and Cooch Behar, and 50 metres at Amritsar and Ludhiana, Ambala, Bhiwani, Palam (Delhi). 

The visibility level was reported at 200 metres in Rohtak in Haryana; Safdarjung, Ridge and Ayanagar in Delhi; Gorakhpur and Bahraich and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh; Bhagalpur in Bihar; Bagdogra and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal; and several places in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. 

On Sunday, the minimum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory dropped to 1.9 degrees Celsius, the lowest in January in two years. At Lodhi Road, Ayanagar, Ridge, and Jafarpur, the minimum temperature reported was 2.8 degrees, 2.6 degrees, 2.2 degrees and 2.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

According to the IMD, the national capital's minimum temperature was lower than most of the hill stations in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, including Chamba (8.2 degrees), Dalhousie (8.2 degrees), Dharamshala (6.2 degrees), Shimla (9.5 degrees), Hamirpur (3.9 degrees), Manali (4.4 degrees), Kangra (7.1 degrees), Solan (3.6 degrees), Dehradun (6 degrees), Mussoorie (9.6 degrees), Nainital (6.2 degrees), Mukteshwar (6.5 degrees) and Tehri (7.6 degrees).
    
The cold snap also strains power grids and poses challenges for the homeless and animals. On Friday, Delhi's peak winter power demand increased to 5,526 MW.
    
In some areas, the IMD warned of an impact on agriculture, livestock, water supply, transportation, and the power sector. The weather service also said that frostbite can occur from prolonged cold exposure and that shivering, the first sign that the body is losing heat, should not be ignored and that people should stay indoors.

For Sunday, the Met Office issued an 'orange' alert for parts of north India, including Delhi, warning of dense fog, cold days, and cold wave conditions.

"Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are very likely to persist over some areas in Rajasthan and Haryana, and Chandigarh, Delhi on January 8," the forecast said.

However, due to back-to-back western disturbances, the IMD predicts that there will be some short-term relief after a couple of days.

(With inputs from PTI)

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