Cold kills 15 more in Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: The cold wave intensified across north India, as the mercury dipped close to the freezing point at several places across the region, killing at least 15 people in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.Police said four people died in Muzaffarnagar, three in Mathura, two each in Agra, Bulandshahr and Etah. One death each was reported from Barabanki and Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh that has reported maximum cold-related deaths – 107 – this season.Muzaffarnagar was the coldest place in the state with a low of just 0.6 degree above the freezing point. Bareilly shivered at a minimum temperature of 0.9, Aligarh 1.2, Najiabad 1.4 and Meerut 1.8 degree C.A Met official said thick fog has led to the drastic drop in the mercury.In Punjab and Haryana, the mercury dropped by up to three notches below normal across the region while dense fog and mist disrupted, rail, road and air traffic. Trains and flights were either rescheduled or cancelled.A Met official said the cold wave will continue for the next two to three days and maximum temperatures will remain below 16 degree C in Punjab and Haryana.Narnaul in Haryana remained the coldest place in the state with a low of 2.4 degree C, down three notches below normal. Bhiwani and Hisar recorded a low of 3.6 and 4 degree C.Authorities were forced to order a 10-day closure of schools as the mercury in Jaipur dropped to a few degrees above the freezing point. There was no respite from the cold weather elsewhere in the state as Churu remained coldest with a minimum temperature of 1.6 degree C.At least two early morning flights from Delhi were diverted to Jaipur while many trains arrived late.Himachal continued to reel under sub-zero temperatures, with Keylong remaining the coldest place with a minimum of minus 8.9 degree C.Over 2,000 people remained stranded in Ladakh, which remains cut off from the rest of the country for six months, as the flights could not take off due to bad weather.But the IAF was able to airlift 46 stranded passengers from Jammu to Kargil and 29 from Kargil to Jammu.Minimum temperatures in Kargil and Leh has been hovering around minus 12 degree C for the last week.