4 more dead in UP; sunny day brings little relief (Roundup)

NEW DELHI - Uttar Pradesh Friday saw the winter chill claiming four more lives even as a comparatively warmer and sunny day brought smiles back to people’s faces in many parts of northern and central India.

However, the harsh cold wave conditions persisted across the region causing traffic problems.

With the latest deaths, the winter toll in UP has reached 63. India’s most populous state has so far been hit most in the matter of lost lives.

In Agra, the severe weather has resulted in fewer tourists and the authorities closed down Taj Mahal for the day.

Room heaters and bonfires continued doing overtime in the hills and plains as the night and morning temperatures remained below normal by as much as 5 degrees.

Even zoo animals had to be given extra care. In Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Zoo, authorities started using heaters, blowers and bonfires to keep the lions, tigers, elephants and other inmates warm.

For people in Srinagar, minus 2.2 degrees Celsius Friday was “warmer” than the previous day’s minus 5. The weatherman attributed this to the nightlong cloud cover.

Even Leh in Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir saw a “warmer” day at minus 9.8 degrees while it was freezing below minus 20 all through last week.

A western disturbance, which originated in the Caspian Sea, is at present active over the valley and the Ladakh region. This, according to the weather office, is likely to result in snowfall by Saturday.

The Himachal hill towns also saw sunny and warmer day, but the higher reaches of the state continued to freeze below zero. Keylong (minus 11.8 degrees) was even colder than the usually coldest Leh farther north.

According to the Met office, higher hills will have more snow Saturday while chances of rain awaits lower towns.

Shimla (5.5-16.6 degrees) and other lower hill stations like Bhuntar, Dharamsala, Sundernagar and Solan were comparatively warmer due to prevailing sunny conditions.

A cheerful sunny but chilly Friday decorated with ground frost in some areas greeted Delhiites, but the weekend is expected to be windy and colder.

The temperature swung between 4.3 degrees and 15.6 degrees Celsius in the national capital.

The sun also cheered up people in Chandigarh and neighbouring towns. The airport operated at a much better level than the previous days when fog had delayed many flights.

Trains to and from Chandigarh also ran on time Friday.

However, it was another freezing day for people in Rajastan where morning fog added to the worries, disrupting road and air traffic. Several flights were delayed at Jaipur (minimum 4 degrees).

Bikaner was at freezing point (0 degree), closely followed by Pilani (0.5 degrees).

The tourist town of Jaisalmer shivered at 1.1 degrees, six below average.

The state government has already declared five days’ holiday for schools, which will open only next Monday.

The sunny beginning to the day in Uttar Pradesh cities turned to freezing evening soon after sunset.

Lucknow (5-15 degrees), Varanasi (2.6-15.2 degrees) and Allahabad (5-15.9 degrees) also experienced similar weather conditions.