Cold wave sweeps Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow, Dec 19 (IANS) The harsh winter chill continued in Uttar Pradesh on Friday as heavy snowfall occured in neighbouring hill state of Uttarakhand.

The cold wave will continue unabated for the next fortnight though the days will remain sunny, an official from regional Met department said.

The minimum temperature in Lucknow was recorded at five degrees Celsius, the official said.

The icy winds would intensify in the coming days and the snowfall in the hills would affect the weather in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the Met director JP Gupta told IANS.

Disturbances in the weather pattern could trigger rains and gusty winds in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Mizoram and Odisha which would further aggravate the winter chill in the coming days.

Meanwhile, due to dense fog on the outskirts, Many trains of the Northern Railways (NER), North-Eastern Railways and the North Central Railways were running hours behind the schedule.