PTI
New Delhi
Cold conditions intensified in parts of north India on Saturday, with many parts blanketed by thick fog that led to several vehicle collisions, leaving four dead and about 30 injured.
The mercury in the Kashmir Valley, which has been experiencing sub-zero temperatures for some days now, dipped further and Delhi recorded the coldest morning of the ongoing winter season. It was biting cold in many parts of Punjab, with the temperature dipping to a bone-chilling 1.1 degrees Celsius in Hoshiarpur, the India Meteorological Department said.
Fog reduced visibility in the morning in some other places in Punjab and neighbouring Haryana. A car and bus collided on the Hoshiarpur-Dasuya road here Saturday morning, killing four men and injuring one person. The accident occurred due to poor visibility caused by dense fog, the police said.
Amritsar recorded a low of 1.3 degrees Celsius, Bathinda 3.4 degrees Celsius, Faridkot 3.2 degrees Celsius, Patiala 4.4 degrees Celsius and Gurdaspur 3.2 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, also experienced a cold night with a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.
In Haryana, Narnaul recorded a low of 3.5 degrees Celsius, Hisar 4 degrees Celsius, Karnal 4.4 degrees Celsius, Bhiwani 4.5 degrees Celsius, Rohtak 5 degrees Celsius and Ambala 6 degrees Celsius.
In Rajasthan, about 25 people were injured after a bus collided with a pickup vehicle due to low visibility caused by dense fog on the Jaipur-Delhi NH-48, police said. In a similar incident in Jaisalmer, a bus collided with a police vehicle, injuring four police personnel, including a station house officer.
Cold wave conditions continued to grip several parts of the state, with dense fog reported at many places on Saturday morning and minimum temperatures remaining well below normal.
According to the Jaipur Met office, Dausa recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 3.5 degrees Celsius. Alwar recorded 3.6 degrees, Srganganagar 3.9 degrees, Nagaur 4.2 degrees, Fatehpur 4.4 degrees, Pilani and Jaisalmer 4.5 degrees each and Lunkaransar 4.6 degrees Celsius.
The department said moderate to dense fog prevailed at several places across the state during the morning hours, while cold day conditions were recorded in many areas. In most parts of Rajasthan, the minimum temperature remained below 10 degrees Celsius.
The weather office said that dry weather is likely to prevail over most parts of the state during the coming week. However, dense fog and cold day conditions are expected to continue over parts of western, northern and eastern Rajasthan in the next few days.
Meanwhile, in southern India, minimum temperatures in parts of Karnataka were below normal by three to six degrees Celsius, while fog was reported at isolated locations.
Cold wave conditions, which were observed in Vijayapura during the past 24 hours, could continue for another day in parts of north interior Karnataka.
A ‘depression’ over the Bay of Bengal is very likely to cross the north Sri Lanka coast on Saturday, which could cause “heavy rainfall” at isolated places over in Tamil Nadu and affect rain patterns in Karnataka.
According to a bulletin issued by the IMD, the depression was located about 50 km southeast of Mullaittivu, 60 km northeast of Trincomalee and 140 km southeast of Jaffna in Sri Lanka, besides being 250 km southeast of Karaikal and 450 km south-southeast of Chennai.
