NEW DELHI: At least 23 people lost their lives due to cold wave in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand even as temperature in parts of north India soared, a trend that weatherman said will persist.
People in the national capital today woke up to a pleasant morning as the minimum temperature rose more than a degree from yesterday to settle at 5.8 degrees Celsius.
Delhi has been witnessing cold wave conditions for the past one week with both minimum and maximum remaining five degrees below normal, but there has been a welcome respite since yesterday.
"The temperature will rise in the coming days," the Met said.
However, in the plains of Uttar Pradesh, the biting cold wave conditions snuffed out 16 more lives during the last 24 hours as death toll due to the harsh weather touched 249 this winter.
Five persons died in Gorakhpur district which was the coldest place in the state yesterday, followed by four each in Farrukhabad and Barabanki, two in Sant Kabirnagar and one in Bijnore.
Met office said that Lucknow along with Najibabad in Bijnore were coldest in the state recording 0.5 (-6) degrees Celsius followed by Kheri with 1 deg C, Sultanpur 1.2 (-7) deg C and Gorakhpur 1.8 (-7) deg C.
In Uttarakhand, seven persons died due to cold wave even as temperature soared in most parts of the hill state giving respite to people.
All the casualties were reported from Roorkee and Haridwar districts where icy northwesterly winds continued to blow amid dense fog.
Mercury rose marginally in most places with Dehradun recording a minimum of 3.5 deg C, Pantnagar 0.2 deg C, Mukteshwar 0.2 deg C, Tehri 1.0 Pithoragarh 2.3 and Nainital 4.0 degree C, the MeT office said.
"The rising temperature at most places shows that the downtrend has finally come to an end," a MeT official said adding it was a pointer towards more pleasant days ahead.
Cold wave sweeps Jharkhand
Chilly conditions prevailed in Jharkhand with Kanke on the outskirts of Ranchi recording a minimum of 3.4 degree Celsius and Ranchi's low temperature being 8 degree Celsius today.
"Freezing conditions in North-Western areas of the country and chilly winds have brought down temperatures," an official with Meteorological department said here.
The minimum temperatures recorded in Jamshedpur and Palamau are 5.1 degree and 6.4 degree Celsius respectively, the sources said adding chill also prevailed in other parts of the state.
The minimum temperature in Kanke, which recorded zero degree Celsius yesterday for the second time this winter, improved with the mercury recording 3.4 degree Celsius, A Wadood, a Weather Scientist with Birsa Agriculture University here said.
The maximum temperatures at many places, however, remained about 20 degree Celsius, sources said.
Cold wave claims 23 more lives in north India
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Cold wave claims 23 more lives in north India
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Cold wave claims 23 more lives in north India
