Chandigarh, Jan 2 (IANS) Denizens of Chandigarh and the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana woke up to a cold Saturday morning with the mercury dipping and blinding fog engulfing most parts of the region, affecting road, rail and air traffic.
Chandigarh shivered at a minimum temperature of 2.2 degrees Celsius Saturday, which was three degrees below averge, a Met official said here.

“Fog prevails in most parts of the region since Friday night and it has reduced the visibility level to just 100 to 200 meters,” he added.

Foggy weather and overcast weather conditions derailed the normal life of people by hitting road, rail and air traffic. Arrivals and departures of various flights were delayed at the Chandigarh and Amritsar airports.

Traffic on most highways in Punjab and Haryana was reduced to crawl due to the thick fog.

Heavy fog also led to tripping of the northern grid at around 3 a.m. Saturday, due to which many areas in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh had to face a power blackout.

Amritsar in Punjab was the coldest in the region with a minimum temperature of minus 1.2 degrees. However, the state’s Ludhiana and Patiala cities were comparatively warmer as the minimum temperatures were 7 and 8.4 degrees respectively Saturday.

In the neighbouring state of Haryana, minimum temperatures at Ambala, Hisar and Karnal were 7.3, 8.3 and 8.2 degrees respectively.