After the first day of the New Year offered some respite from bone-chilling cold to Delhi-ites, the minimum temperature dipped to 5 degrees Celsius on January 2, 2014.
Cold tightened its grip on north claiming five lives, including two children, in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as icy winds swept most parts of the region plummeting temperatures by several notches below normal.
After the first day of the new Year offered some respite from bone chilling cold to Delhi-ites, the minimum temperature dipped to 5 degrees Celsius on Thursday, two notches below normal and shallow to moderate fog was witnessed this morning.
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country remained closed for the third consecutive day as the Valley and Ladakh region reeled under intense cold conditions with Wednesday night's temperature in Pahalgam plunging to the season's lowest of minus 12.2 degrees Celsius.
Cold waves swept Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh with minimum temperatures hovering several notches below normal even as fog reduced visibility on Thursday morning at some places.
Freezing cold swept Amritsar, which recorded a below normal low of 0.8 degrees Celsius.
Three persons, including 45-year-old Hariprasad of Andgau village, 7-year-old Neeraj of Daulatpur village and a 6-year-old girl from Diyanatnagar village, died on Thursday due to biting cold conditions in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district.
Two beggars were found dead on Wednesday in open areas of Jalupura and Subhash Chowk in Jaipur which recorded season's lowest minimum temperature even as icy winds and fog continued unabated in Rajasthan affecting normal life and vehicular traffic.
In Uttar Pradesh, minimum temperature in the state was recorded in Agra at 4.7 degree Celsius on Thursday, with the MeT officials predicting moderate to dense fog at a few places during the morning hours and frost would occur at isolated places during the next two days.
Leh, in Ladakh region, recorded a low of minus 15.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday, more than eight degrees down from Wednesday night's minus 7.2 degrees Celsius, while Kargil recorded a low of minus 11.6 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
Engulfed with mist and fog, Rajasthan's Jaipur recorded the season's lowest temperature of 2.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday, about 5 degrees below normal, as against 6.4 degree Celsius on Wednesday, a MeT report said.
Churu recorded the lowest temperature of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night, Pilani recorded a minimum of 1.3 degrees Celsius followed by Sriganganagar at 1.9 deg C, and Bikaner 2.0 degree Celsius.
Hisar, Bhiwani and Narnaul in Haryana reeled under extreme cold recording minimum temperature of one degree Celsius each on Thursday.
Chandigarh in Punjab recorded a cold night at 5.6 degree C on Wednesday.
In Himachal Pradesh, the high altitude tribal areas had another spell of mild snowfall as mercury dipped to minus 10 degree Celsius at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti on Thursday, against 5.6 degree Celsius on Wednesday, while Kalpa in twin tribal district of Kinnaur recorded a low of minus 4.0 degree Celsius on Thursday.
The tourist resort of Manali recorded minimum temperature at minus 2.6 degree Celsius on Thursday, while Solan and Bhuntar reeled under zero degree and 0.8 degree respectively, followed by Sundernagar and Palampur (2.5 deg C), Shimla (3.1 deg C) and Dharamsala (5.6 deg C).