Thick fog engulfs Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana

CHANDIGARH - Fog along with bone-chilling cold Sunday derailed normal life in Punjab, Haryana and the joint capital Chandigarh and hit road, rail and air traffic.

A blanket of thick fog enveloped Chandigarh and most parts of Punjab and Haryana. “Dense fog prevails in the region, reducing the visibility level to below 100 meters. We are expecting these conditions to continue in the coming days,” said a Met official here.

The Chandigarh Police have issued a traffic advisory for the residents to follow while driving. “People should drive slow during foggy weather and avoid overtaking as far as possible. Fog lights should be switched on and nobody should use high beam while driving,” the advisory stated.

There is no respite from cold and the mercury registered a further decline in both day and night temperatures of the region Sunday.

Amritsar was the coldest in the region Sunday, with a minimum temperature of 1.8 degrees Celsius, which was three degrees below average.

The centrally-administered city Chandigarh shivered at 7 degrees, which was four degrees below average.

In Haryana, minimum temperatures at Ambala, Karnal and Hisar towns Sunday were 5.5, 6 and 6.3 degrees Celsius.

Owing to bad weather, no flight has either landed or taken off from the Chandigarh airport for the last nine days.

Most of the trains were delayed at Chandigarh railway station Sunday and hundreds of passengers were seen stranded there.