COLD WAVE: SCHOOLS IN HRY TO REMAIN SHUT TODAY
NO RESPITE Severe cold wave conditions likely to continue in the region for next two days: MeT dept
CHANDIGARH : Government and private schools in Haryana will remain closed on Thursday in view of intense cold. According to an official statement, state education minister Kanwar Pal has directed authorities to ensure strict compliance of instructions. In Haryana, day temperatures have been hovering between 11 and 15 degrees Celsius at most places, six to nine notches below the normal.
The minimum has been in the three degrees Celsius and seven degrees Celsius range, which is three to four notches below the normal.
The meteorological department here has predicted that severe cold will continue over the next couple of days.
HOLIDAYS IN PUNJAB SCHOOLS TILL DEC 31
The Punjab government has declared winter vacation from December 25 to 31 in all government, government-aided and private schools, according to instructions issued by the school education department last week. Schools will reopen on January 1.
CHANDIGARH : The cold wave continued to sweep most parts of Haryana and Punjab with Narnaul reeling at a minimum temperature of 3.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
A meteorological department official said severe cold conditions are likely to continue for the next two days.
Narnaul in Haryana was colder by two degrees against normal limits. Hisar too recorded a below normal minimum temperature of 4.1 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Biting cold continued in several other parts of Haryana with Karnal recording a low of 6 degrees, Rohtak 5 degrees, Bhiwani 5.7, Sirsa 6.1 and Ambala 5.5 degrees Celsius.
Madan Lal Khichar, the head of the department of meteorology and agriculture at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar, said: “The minimum temperature in Haryana will go down. Hisar is the coldest during the day and Narnaul near Rewari at night. The fall in temperature is beneficial for wheat, mustard and grams but it could affect the potato and chilli crops.”
Faridkot was the coldest place in Punjab recording a low of 4.6 degrees Celsius.
Ludhiana was cold at 5.5 degrees Celsius, Patiala at 5.8, Bathinda at 5.9, Halwara at 5.8, and Amritsar at 6.5 degrees Celsius.
COLDEST NIGHT IN CHANDIGARH SO FAR
Chandigarh recorded a low of 6.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night, making it the coldest this season.
According to an IMD official, the night temperature had fallen to 2.3 degrees in 2018. “A further drop in temperature is likely in the next three to four days,” he said. The maximum temperature in Chandigarh was 9 degrees Celsius, the lowest since 2014. IMD scientist Shivinder Singh attributes the fall in mercury to the formation of a blanket of fog that rises during the day. “Sunlight will be sparse though the minimum temperature can’t fall below 5 degrees due to the fog. The maximum is expected to hover between 9 and 11 degrees Celsius,” he said.
“It is extremely cold these days. I have not witnessed such a spell in many years,” said Baldev Singh, an elderly resident of Chandigarh.
Sunlight will be sparse though the minimum temperature can’t fall below 5 degrees due to the fog.
SHIVINDER SINGH, IMD scientist