Cold Wave Welcomes 2012 in North India

 

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- North India ushered in the new year under a canopy of chilly conditions as an icy cold wave continued to torment the upper Himalayan region.

Even lakes froze as the temperature plummeted to as low as minus 18.8 degrees Celsius in the far-flung mountainous Ladakh in the Jamu and Kashmir (J&K) region.

"It has been dry and very cold in J&K. There are still about four to five centimetres of snow in the Gulmarg skiing area.

"On Jan 4 or 5, we expect light snowfall in Srinagar," Sonam Lotus, director of the Srinagar Meteorological Centre told Bernama today.

There has been no respite since the biting cold winter set in in late December in the northern belt, where at least 135 people have died so far due to extreme cold conditions.

Heavy fog and the dipping mercury, hovering at about six degrees Celsius, continued to trouble Delhi -- forcing many New Year parties restricted to indoors.

The vagaries of the weather continued to haunt many in the south as well, where cyclone "Thane" battered India's southern states, upsetting the New Year celebrations of hundreds of fishing villages.

The cyclonic storm which swept across Tamil Nadu state on Friday morning killed 46 people, destroyed fishing hamlets and knocked off power supply and telecommunication lines.

The winds packed a speed of 140km per hour. -- NNN-BERNAMA