Dense fog engulfs northern India

A blanket of dense fog engulfed Northern India on Thursday (January 05) forcing normal life grind to a halt.Thick fog swallowed up Haldwani district in Indias northern Uttarakhand state, adding to the woes of the locals and travellers.Fog persisted in the early part of the day disrupting air and rail traffic on Thursday as several passengers were left stranded.The biting cold is keeping a large number of denizens indoors; warm clothes and bonfires being lit provide some respite and solace from the rough weather.Most areas witnessed snowfall, adding to the spine-chilling atmosphere. The locals shivered in the biting cold and further suffered from the vagaries of the weather, which had already troubled them in the last few days.Meanwhile, extreme winter conditions continued to send shivers in the national capital New Delhi disrupting air traffic.The Met Department has also forecast fog in the morning with the minimum temperature in the city expected to drop further for the next couple of days. The minimum temperature in most part of the northern India is likely to remain 2 to 3 degrees Celsius below normal.