New Delhi:
Delhiites braced themselves for a continued spell of cold weather today as chilly winds made them shiver and the Met Department warned that the fog which had made life miserable yesterday would return in the evening. The minimum temperature settled three notches below average at 4.8 degrees Celsius.
"A light blanket of fog enveloped the city. The visibility at 8.30 a.m. was 600 metres which was better compared to yesterday (Monday)," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.
A clear day was in store for the city but the chilly winds would persist and a blanket of fog would return in the evening, the IMD said. The maximum temperature was expected to hover around 21 degrees. The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 100 percent.
Poor visibility led to a 10-car pile-up on the Greater Noida Expressway at about 4.30 this morning. The collisions took place after a container truck broke down in the middle of the road and began leaking oil, causing other vehicles to skid.
Today was the second time in the last four days that the minimum temperature in Delhi went below 5 degrees Celsius. The coldest day of the season so far was December 16 when the minimum dropped to 4.7 degree Celsius and the maximum was recorded at 21.7 degrees.
Last week, the Delhi Government's Education Department had sent out an advisory to all schools, suggesting a break from December 26 to January 15 to shield children from the biting cold. Official sources, however, clarified that this was not binding on the schools which were privately-run and that it was up to the institutions to take a final decision. Government schools in the city already have their regular winter break scheduled for this period.
There were reports of some flights being delayed this morning but the authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) said that this was due to poor weather conditions at the destinations. The flights which were delayed included those to cities like Lucknow, Port Blair, Kolkata, Patna and Chandigarh. Most other flights departed on time, an official said.
Weather conditions in the rest of north India also forced a delay in over 55 trains arriving in New Delhi, including the prestigious Rajdhanis from Howrah, Patna and Jammu. Northern Railway has rescheduled the departure of 12 trains.
Cold wave across north India
The cold wave which continues to grip north India has claimed at least 39 lives. Temperatures have plunged across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar. In Jammu and Kashmir, where night temperatures have dipped below freezing point, the state Met office has issued a travel advisory asking those undertaking the Srinagar-Jammu journey on Tuesday and Wednesday to exercise caution. Parts of the Kashmir Valley have seen rains and snowfall.
"We have been issuing fog warning as fog had enveloped whole of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh since December 6," an official of the Met Department said today.
(With agency inputs)