Jharkhand Government Announces Closure of Schools Amid Cold Wave

New Delhi: The Jharkhand government announced closure of schools from January 7-13 in view of a cold wave sweeping the eastern state.

The mercury neared the freezing point in several parts of Kashmir Valley which received fresh snowfall on Sunday, while cold weather conditions continued at many places in Haryana and Punjab.

Dense fog persisted in the national capital, reducing visibility to zero and disrupting several flights and train schedules, officials said.

Low visibility conditions due to dense fog have been impacting flight operations at Delhi airport for the past three days.

"Compared to Saturday's 9-hour zero visibility spell, Palam experienced a relatively shorter duration of 3.5 hours of zero visibility on Sunday," an official said.

The maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 18.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, while the minimum was recorded at 9.4 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

For Monday, the weather office has predicted a generally cloudy sky with possibility of very light to light rain accompanied by thunderstorms in the morning hours.

Most parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar, received a fresh spell of snowfall on Sunday as the mercury stayed close to the freezing point in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir for the second consecutive day.

Snowfall was witnessed in several areas of Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara districts in north Kashmir and some parts of Budgam and Ganderbal districts in central Kashmir in the morning, officials said.

The night temperature in the Valley dipped sharply, with Kokernag in south Kashmir freezing at minus 8.1 degrees Celsius, the coldest in the region.

In Srinagar, the mercury settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.

While Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam shivered at minus 3.2 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, logged a minimum temperature of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, while Konibal in Pampore recorded a low of minus 3.5 degrees.

Kupwara in north Kashmir registered a night temperature of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, cold weather conditions continued at many places in Haryana and Punjab on Sunday, with Narnaul in Haryana recording the lowest minimum temperature at 6.8 degrees Celsius.

Fog shrouded a few places in the two states in the morning hours, officials said.

In Haryana, Karnal recorded a low of 8 degrees Celsius, Ambala 8.3 degrees Celsius, Hisar 8.8 degrees Celsius, Bhiwani 8.9 degrees Celsius, Gurugram 9.3 degrees Celsius and Rohtak 10.3 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department in Chandigarh.

In Punjab, the mercury settled at 7.4 degrees Celsius in Bathinda and 7.9 degrees Celsius in Amritsar, while Gurdaspur recorded a low of 8 degrees Celsius followed by Patiala (8.4 degrees), Faridkot (8.5 degrees), Ludhiana (8.6 degrees), and Pathankot (9.3 degrees).

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 8.4 degrees Celsius as the sun shone brightly in the city after days of cloudy and foggy weather.

In Jharkhand, the government has announced closure of schools from kindergarten to Class-8 from January 7-13 due to a cold wave in the state.

The suspension of classes will be applicable for all categories of schools, including government, aided, minority and private, in view of the prevailing cold wave conditions in the state.

Dry weather prevailed in the state during the last 24 hours with Khunti recording the lowest minimum temperature at 5.3 degrees Celsius. 

With PTI Inputs