Mercury today dropped across northern India as Leh in Jammu and Kashmir shivered at minus 16.4 degrees Celsius with national capital recording the coldest day of the season even as four people were killed in a road accident due to fog in Uttar Pradesh.

Moderate to dense fog disrupted rail services, leading to cancellation of 66 trains. 16 others were running late. Flight operations, however, remained normal in the city.

Maximum temperature plunged to 15.1 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal while the minimum settled at 8.9 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average, said a MeT department official.

In wake of the chilly weather, Delhi government has directed the schools run by it to suspend primary classes for three days and private schools to alter their timings.

In neighbouring UP, four people were killed when their car fell into a canal in Auraiya district last night as dense fog marred visibility even as light to moderate rain and thunder-shower occurred at some places in the state in the last 24 hours.

Night temperature rose in Faizabad and Lucknow, fell in Meerut and changed little in the remaining divisions over the state with Nazibabad recording the lowest at 04.2 °C.

With northerly icy winds sweeping across Rajasthan, mercury dipped further by one to three degrees Celsius at most places, an MeT official said.

Jaipur recorded the lowest temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius last night.

Dense fog in north eastern regions of Rajasthan covering Alwar, Bharatpur, Behror, Dholpur, Sikar, Churu, Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh affected normal life and vehicular traffic.

Parts of Punjab and Haryana were also reeling under intense cold conditions.

Jammu and Kashmir continued to remain in the grip of intense cold as night temperature, which was already below freezing point, dipped further with Leh recording the lowest temperature of the season at minus 16.4 degrees Celsius, down by five notches.

Meanwhile, Sringar continued to experience bright sunshine for the second consecutive day despite a drop in the night temperature.

The maximum temperature recorded in the city yesterday was 13.3 degrees Celsius seven degrees above normal, the spokesman said.

The summer capital registered a decrease of over two notches in the night temperature as the mercury settled at a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in the nearby Kargil town also decreased nearly four notches to record a low of minus 15.0 degrees Celsius.

The spokesman said the famous tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir witnessed a drop of over three degrees in the night temperature which settled at minus 7.5 degrees Celsius, while the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a drop of over a degree in the minimum temperature which settled at minus 7.4 degrees Celsius.

The night temperature recorded at Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, was minus 3.4 degrees Celsius.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a drop of over three degrees in the night temperature which settled at a low of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius.

Parts of Punjab and Haryana reeled under intense cold.

Fog and mist which engulfed various parts of Punjab and Haryana affected rail and vehicular traffic in the region.

Foggy weather reduced the visibility in various parts including Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar and Ambala.
Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place in the two states as it braved 3.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, according to MeT department.

Ambala and Hisar recorded a low of 8.4 degrees Celsius and 6.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

In Punjab, Amritsar shivered at 4.4 degrees, while Ludhiana and Patiala experienced 8.7 degrees Celsius and 9 degrees Celsius, up to three degrees above normal, the MeT report stated.
The Union Territory of Chandigarh recorded 7.7 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal.