5 die; fog disrupts flight schedules as cold grips North

Five people died as chilly winds and freezing temperatures continued in north India even as a blanket of thick fog over Delhi disrupted flight schedules today.

Four persons, including a new-born baby, lost their lives due to severe cold conditions in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district.

The winter chill also claimed its first victim in the national capital with an unidentified man being found dead near a Metro pillar in west Delhi.

A blanket of thick fog enveloped the busy Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi with visibility dropping to near zero and leading to delays, diversions and cancellation of 80 domestic and international flights.

While 38 flights were cancelled, as many as 42, including 14 international flights, were diverted to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Hyderabad.

The airport was closed for nearly two hours as visibility fell below 100 metres.

It was the coldest day of this season in the national capital with the maximum dropping to 18.8 degree Celsius while the minimum was recorded at 7 deg C.

Leh in frontier region of Ladakh continued to be the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir with the chill showing no signs of relenting despite a slight improvement in minimum temperature.

Leh recorded minus 12.6 deg C as against minus 16.4 deg C the previous night. Kargil was the second coldest place in the state with a low of minus 10.2 deg C as against minus 11.6 deg C yesterday.

Kashmir valley also witnessed a slight rise in mercury due to the cloud cover which returned after a couple of days break.

Srinagar recorded a low of minus 2.1 deg C, one notch higher than yesterday's minus 3.1 deg C.

Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir recorded minus 4.2 deg C as against yesterday's 2.8 deg C.

The famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, which recorded a minus 7.0 deg C the previous night, registered a minimum of minus 5.8 deg C, making it the coldest place in the valley.

Normal life was disrupted in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh as severe cold waves swept the region.

Narnaul in Haryana reeled at 1 deg C, while it was 2.3 deg C in Ambala.

Chandigarh recorded a minimum of 5.4 deg C.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded 4.1 deg C, while it was 4.6 deg C in Ludhiana.

Rajasthan also continued to remain in the grip of biting cold with Churu recording the lowest temperature of 2.3 deg C in the state.