Cold wave intensifies in North India

Anchor - The cold wave has intensified in north India with snowfall in higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand on Thursday while light rains in the national capital also caused chill in the air. The high altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh including the famous ski resort of Gulmarg experienced moderate snowfall while the plains including the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar were lashed by rains since Thursday afternoon.....Flight operations at the Srinagar airport also remained suspended for the sixth consecutive day on Thursday as all flights to and fro the Kashmir valley were cancelled due to poor visibility caused by fog. The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was also closed for vehicular traffic following moderate snowfall in and around Jawahar Tunnel. The weatherman has meanwhile issued an orange warning for the twin Union Territories, predicting moderate to heavy snowfall and rain under the influence of Western Disturbance. Uttarakhand is also in the grip of severe cold as the state received the season's heaviest snowfall on Thursday, leading to closure of schools in several districts. The higher reaches of Garhwal Himalayan region is experiencing continuous snowfall since Wednesday night. Due to the cold wave conditions, government and private schools in several districts of the state will remain closed today. Many parts of the state including capital of Dehradun has been lashed by heavy rains . In Himachal Pradesh also, cold wave intensifies after rain, snowfall in many parts of the state, resulting in decrease in the maximum temperature by 7-8 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Kufri of Shimla district was recorded below freezing point. Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu and Shimla districts received snowfall whereas several other areas of the state witnessed rain. Heavy rains, coupled with thunderstorm, lashed several parts of the national capital of Delhi since Thursday evening. More than a dozen flights were diverted from the Delhi airport due to strong winds, rain and hail in parts of the city and adjoining areas. the weathermen has forecast thunderstorm with hail in some parts of the capital city for today as well.