Punjab and Haryana reel under fog and cold

PTI Updated - December 31, 2012 at 06:10 PM.

Fog threw normal life out of gear in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Monday affecting air, rail and road traffic as the mercury plummeted sharply in the region on the New year eve.

Early morning dense fog reduced visibility to just a few metres adversely affecting air, rail and road traffic in the twin states, official said here.

While most of the flights from Chandigarh airport were cancelled or re-scheduled in view of low visibility, several trains passing through the plains of Punjab and Haryana are running hours behind schedule.

A serpentine queue of vehicles could be seen moving slowly on highways due to the dense fog.

Besides foggy conditions, the minimum temperature sharply fell in the region as the mercury hovered between four degrees celsius below normal to one notch above normal in several parts of Punjab and Haryana, the Met office said.

Tripping of power supply and low pressure of water further aggravated to the woes of the people of the region, officials said.

In the plains of Punjab and Haryana, Narnaul braved the lowest temperature with a low of 1.9 degrees celsius, which was four notches below normal.

While Bhiwani settled at a low of 3.6 degrees celsius, the minimum temperature at Hisar and Karnal was an identical 5.4 degrees celsius, one notch each below normal.

Patiala settled at a low of 5.8 degrees celsius, one notch below normal followed by 5.8 degrees celsius at Ludhiana, also one notch below normal, Amritsar six degrees celsius, Chandigarh 6.4 degrees celsius, one notch below normal and 6.8 degrees celsius at Ambala, one notch above normal.

Published on December 31, 2012 12:40