Intense cold wave in Punjab, Haryana; Hisar coldest at 1.6 deg C

Hisar in Haryana reeled at 1.6 degrees Celsius as unrelenting cold wave intensifies in the state and neighbouring Punjab on Sunday.

Hisar, where minimum settled five notches below normal, was the coldest place in the two states.

Karnal, too, experienced the chill at 2 degrees Celsius, down three notches, Meteorological (MeT) Department officials said.

Narnaul and Rohtak also recorded below normal identical minimum temperatures of 3 degrees each.

Ambala and Sirsa too registered below normal identical lows at 4.4 degrees Celsius each while Bhiwani's minimum settled at 4.6 degrees.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, braved the chill at 4 degrees Celsius, down two degrees against normal limits.

In Punjab, Gurdaspur was the coldest place recording a low of 2.4 degrees while Ludhiana, too, experienced a cold night at 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Patiala's minimum settled at 3.4 degrees, down three notches against normal while Adampur, which was the coldest place in the state on Saturday recording a sub-zero temperature, registered a slight increase in minimum at 2.5 degrees Celsius, though it was still below the normal limits.

Halwara recorded a minimum of 3.9 degrees Celsius while Amritsar and Pathankot registered near similar lows 5.9 degrees and 5.5 degrees Celsius.

The MeT officials said that fog reduced visibility early Sunday morning at many places including Hisar, Karnal, Bhiwani, Ludhiana and Patiala.