Cold wave coupled with fog hit normal life in most parts of Northern plains and claimed its first victim in Jaipur, even as hilly states of Uttarakhand and J&K battled the chill.
Several trains of North-Western Railways were running late by hours due to fog in UP, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, a railways spokesman said. Aviation regulator DGCA has also directed all schedule domestic airlines to operate only with CAT-III complaint aircraft along with trained crew during fog hours. Cold wave intensified in Kashmir Valley with Leh being the coldest place in J&K as the mercury dropped to –14 degrees. He said the nearby Kargil town recorded a low of –11.4 degrees Celsius.