The minimum temperature today registered a marginal increase at many places in Punjab and Haryana, providing respite to the people from bone- chilling cold. Amritsar in Punjab, where the mercury had been hovering close to the freezing point for past few days, today registered a low of 8.5 degrees Celsius, four notches above the normal, a MeT official said today. Ludhiana, which recorded 7.6 degrees Celsius, was followed by Patiala at 8.1 degrees Celsius, Bathinda at 9.2 degrees Celsius and Halwara at 8.3 degrees Celsius. However, Gurdaspur and Pathankot continued to brave the cold weather recording the respective minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius and 5.2 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh recorded a low of 6.7 deg C. In Haryana, Ambala recorded a low of 9.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal. Karnal recorded a low of 8 degrees Celsius, up two notches against normal while Hisar, where severe cold wave had persisted during the past few days, registered a low of 6.4 degrees Celsius, up three notches against normal. Sirsa (9 degrees Celsius), Rohtak (7.5 degrees Celsius) and Bhiwani (6.8 degrees Celsius) also recorded above the normal minimum temperature. The MeT official said that fog reduced visibility in the morning today at places including Karnal and Rohtak in Haryana, and Patiala and Ludhiana in Punjab. Police said that 15 vehicles were involved in a pile-up on the national highway near Karnal as visibility was low due to fog.
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