North Indian states continued to shiver in the biting cold wave that has claimed at least four lives in Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours, PTI reported. Three people have died in Muzaffarnagar due to severe weather conditions with temperatures falling to 3.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
As the meteorological department predicted more harsh weather in the coming days, the district authorities in Lucknow, Agra, Kanpur, Varanasi, Bareilly and Allahabad have ordered the schools to be shut till Monday, IANS reported.
Traffic has been disrupted in parts of the state after visibility dropped because of fog. At least 30 trains were running behind their schedule, while the Shatabdi Express between New Delhi and Lucknow was cancelled on Friday.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath has directed officials to light bonfires at public places and to distribute blankets among the poor and homeless. However, conditions at many nights shelters are said to be dismal, IANS reported.
Meanwhile, weather experts have predicted lights rains and snow on Friday in Kashmir. The Valley is currently under the 40-day harshest period of winter, also known as Chillai-Kalan. Water supply was affected in various parts of Srinagar as taps froze during the night, Greater Kashmir reported.
Earlier this week, Kargil town witnessed its coldest night this season with temperatures falling to -20 degrees Celsius. Leh was at minus 16.6 degrees Celsius on Monday night.
Delhi saw its coldest day of the season on Thursday with minimum temperature plunging to 5 degrees Celsius, NDTV reported. Trains and flight operations were once again hit in the national Capital as fog enveloped the city. At least 18 trains have been cancelled between Thursday and Friday, while 62 trains have been delayed and 20 rescheduled.
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