Adampur coldest in state at 4.9°

CHANDIGARH: Adampur in Jalandhar continued to reel under biting cold at 4.9°C on Sunday as visibility dropped slightly at few places in the state and neighbouring Haryana due to shallow fog and mist.

The minimum temperature continued to hover below normal at most other places in the two states. Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar and Ludhiana, experienced a cold night recording respective lows of 6.6°C and 7.2°C, a meteorological department official said.

Patiala, too, was cold at 8.5°C. Bathinda registered a low of 8.1°C, while Pathankot and Gurdaspur recorded minimum temperatures of 7.3 and 7.4°C.

Faridkot had a cold night at 6.2°C. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 8.6°C.

In Haryana, Hisar was the coldest place recording a low of 5.6°C, down four notches from the normal. Ambala recorded a low of 9.3°C, while cold weather conditions prevailed in Rohtak at a low of 6.7°C.

The MET official said that shallow fog reduced visibility in Amritsar and Ludhiana while mist was observed in Chandigarh, Ambala, Hisar and Patiala.

In Himachal Pradesh, the mercury stayed between minus seven and minus 12 degrees Celsius in high altitude areas of the state. Strong winds lashed capital Shimla which witnessed overcast condition.

Owing to the low temperatures, skating commenced in Shimla’s ice–skating rink. After nearly a decade skating in the rink was feasible in early December. Last year, it started on December 27. Keylong, Kalpa and Manali recorded a low of minus 4.2°C, minus 0.6°C and minus 0.2°C respectively. Una was the hottest in the region with a high of 26.8°C.

The Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region continued to experience sub-zero night temperatures, with further dip in temperature expected.

The night temperature across Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, stayed below the freezing point last night, an official of the MET department here said.

MINIMUM TEMPERATURE HOVERED BELOW NORMAL AT MOST OTHER PLACES; AMRITSAR AND LUDHIANA WERE AT 6.6°C AND 7.2°C, RESPECTIVELY