There was no respite from the shivering cold condition across the state on Thursday with the minimum temperature sliding below normal at many places. Icy winds also aggravated with Mount Abu recording the lowest temperature of 0°C in the hills. Bikaner comes close with 0.4°C in the plains.
Tourist hub Mount Abu wore a deserted look in the morning even as the famed Nakki lake was almost frozen. Though the tourist influx at the hill station is usually low in January, still a few of the visitors who are there confined themselves to their hotels.
Similarly, normal life and vehicular traffic in Bikaner were affected with the mercury plummeting towards the freezing point. The town also witnessed haze during early morning hours and till afternoon, visibility was a bit low. In Pink City, residents woke up to the coldest morning of the season so far. The city experienced a low of 4.2°C, down by almost three degrees below normal. Earlier this week, the citywitnessed a minimum of 4.5°.
Since Jaipur also witnessed early morning fog, air traffic was also affected. At least three early morning Jaipur-bound flights from Delhi landed late. A dozen early morning trains also arrived late at the Jaipur railway station. Many trains, including Puja Express, Aasharam Express, Jaipur- Ahmedabad Mail, Aala Hazarat Express, Jodhpur-Howarh Express and Malini Express, were running late.
Roads were deserted during the early morning hours in and around Jaipur. The evening also saw a low turnout of people at most of the hang out joints, including Gaurav Tower and restaurants located at MI Road and Statue Circle. The road traffic was also badly affected in Dausa, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur, Churu, Sriganganagar and Bikaner due to fog in some parts of eastern and northern Rajasthan. Poor visibility played a spoilsport on the highways connecting Jaipur to Agra and Jaipur to Sriganganagar.
In other parts of the state, the minimum temperature also dipped drastically. Churu recorded a minimum of 2.2° Celsius, Sriganganagar 3.9°, Pilani 4°, Chittorgarh 4.2°, Ajmer 5.7°, Jaisalmer 6.7°, Kota 7°, Barmer 7.5° and Jodhpur experienced a minimum temperature of 8° Celsius. The Met office said the mercury would take an upward swing in the next couple of days.
src: TOI