Several die as north, east India reel under cold spell

Men warm themselves up around a bonfire on a street of the northern city of Amritsar, yesterday. Much of north and east India are reeling under an intense cold weather

A cold wave swept over north and east India yesterday throwing life out of gear. While several places witnessed disruption in flight and train services, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand reported a number of deaths due to the intense cold.

According to the disaster management department of Uttar Pradesh, at least 14 people died in different parts of the state Saturday and yesterday because of the cold.

“The 14 deaths have been reported from many districts, including Banda, Bhadohi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur and Varanasi,” an official of the disaster management department said.

The lowest minimum temperature of 5 degrees Celsius was recorded in the state’s Shahjahanpur district yesterday, followed by Lucknow where the minimum temperature was 7.4 degrees. It is forecast that the fog and cold wave condition would persist in the state for at least two more days.

A total of 13 people lost their lives in Jharkhand because of the winter chill.

“The cold wave and the dipping mercury have claimed 13 lives in the state. Four people died in Ranchi and three each died in Hazaribagh and Dhanbad. Deaths were also reported from Bokaro, Garwah and Jamshedpur,” an official said.

In parts of the state, like the Kanke area of Ranchi, the minimum temperature dipped to 2.2 degrees and in Mckluskieganj, the minimum temperature recorded was 2 degrees.

Cold wave swept parts of Orissa too yesterday with Phulbani town in Kandhamal district recording a minimum temperature of 4 degrees, the lowest in the state this winter, an official said.

In Bihar, the condition was similar. Muzaffarpur district recorded a minimum temperature of 6 degrees yesterday morning while it was 7 degrees in Purnea and Kishanganj.

In places like Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, there were light showers, adding to the winter chill.

Chatar Singh Malik, director of the Chandigarh Meteorological Centre, said: “Since today morning, we have had moderate spells of rainfall in Chandigarh and various towns of Punjab and Haryana including Patiala, Amritsar, Nawanshahr, Ambala, Rohtak, Hisar and Karnal.

“We expect isolated spells of rain to continue in the coming days. It could also lead to a sharp decline in the temperature, especially during nights.”

Amritsar in Punjab was the coldest in the region with a minimum temperature of minus 1 degree Celsius. However, Ludhiana and Patiala were comparatively warmer at 8.8 degrees and 10.1 degrees, respectively.

In Haryana, minimum temperatures at Ambala, Karnal and Hisar towns were 8.3 degrees, 9.5 degrees and 10 degrees, respectively.

The national capital received 1mm of rainfall yesterday, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The minimum temperature in Delhi was 9.5 degrees, two notches above the average. The maximum temperature was recorded at 15.3 degrees, seven degrees below the average.

A dense fog caused by the cold spell cleared as the day progressed in Delhi, but several flights were still delayed or cancelled.

“At least six domestic flights, including those to Amritsar, Srinagar and Leh, were cancelled due to poor weather at their respective destinations. Some international flights were delayed by a few hours around midnight due to the dense fog at that time. Twelve domestic flights were also delayed,” an airport official said.

In Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, a dense fog yesterday morning reduced visibility to below 100m, delaying several trains and leaving passengers stranded.

However, in Himachal Pradesh, the residents seemed to have had some respite from the cold wave.

“The cold wave receded in the state this morning with a rise in the minimum temperatures. However, rain and snowfall are likely in the next 24 hours with western disturbances approaching the region,” Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office, said.