New Delhi:
Cold weather conditions claimed nine lives in Uttar Pradesh while fresh snowfall again left Kashmir cut off from the rest of the country as northern India continued to grapple with the winter chill.
In UP, four people died due to cold and rainfall in different parts of Fatehgarh district while a road mishap caused by poor visibility due to fog killed five others in Hathras last night.
Although people in Dellhi woke up to a foggy morning, they were treated to bright sunshine in the later part of the day with the maximum settling at 18.2 degrees, two notches below normal.
The minimum in the national capital was recorded at 6.3 degrees, one notch below normal.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only all-weather road connecting the Valley to the rest of the country, was last night closed following fresh snowfall.
The highway had been opened to traffic yesterday morning after two days following its closure due to snowfall on Wednesday.
Most parts of the Valley experienced fresh snowfall during the night with Srinagar receiving deposits of 0.6mm. The city recorded a low of -0.3 degrees Celsius as against the previous night's minimum of -0.7 degrees.
The mercury at Pahalgam plummeted by over 7 notches from -6.8 degrees the night before to settle at a low of -14.3 degrees. The tourist resort received 20.2mm snowfall.
Leh in Ladakh was the coldest recorded place in the state at -15.6 degrees.
Uttarakhand witnessed heavy snowfall in the higher reaches while icy winds swept the plains of the state.
Thick sheets of snow covered the mountains near the tourist places of Mussoorie and Nainital. Snowfall continued in the hills of Mukteshwar in Nainital district, which recorded a low of -8.7 degrees while rainfall lashed various places in Kumaon region, including Pantnagar and Pithoragarh.
Thundershowers overnight lashed Dehradun where it added to the chilly conditions.