Big chill from Jammu to Jaipur

New Delhi: The big chill continues in north India.

From the Himalayan heights of Kashmir to the desert city of Jaipur, icy winds continued to lash across various north Indian cities and the mercury plummeted to record lows.

According to the weather man, there will not be any respite for two more days. Cold wave conditions will continue in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP, and, New Delhi will wake up to foggy mornings.

The minimum temperature in the Capital on Monday was recorded at 0.2 degrees celsius, more than six degrees below normal and a record low in 70 years. Some outbound flights were also delayed.

The freezing cold, coupled with disruption in power and drinking water supplies and icy road surfaces, affected normal life in the Kashmir valley.

The night temperature continued to vary between minus two and minues five degrees and the day temperature was less than two degree celsius.

But life was not thrown completely out of gear.

As the snow glistened under the bright sun, tourists and residents enjoyed hot cups of tea and came out to enjoy snow games.

Jammu, too, seems to be competing with Kashmir and Jammu residents believe they may soon catch up with the valley.

The Pink City of Jaipur is so cold that even the gods are wearing warm clothes. A temple in the city has arranged for woolens for the idols.

But the coldest of them all was a small town in Punjab, that beat even the icy heights of Kashmir. In Adampur, temperaures fell to minus four degrees forcing people to flee indoors and disrupted normal life.

The Met Office does not have much good news in store the this small town. The already biting winter here will soon be coupled with some rain making it even chillier.

But the extreme cold has brought some good news for tiny tots in Delhi.

All primary schools in the capital will remain shut for three days in view of the cold wave.

This comes as a relief for thousands of school children, who have to deal with the early morning chill and fog.