The chill showed no signs of ebbing in North India, buffeted by icy winds, with the mercury continuing to hover below normal in most parts on Thursday. The minimum temperature recorded in Delhi was 5.6 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, although it was an improvement on Wednesday’s 4.4 degrees. The maximum too showed a similar trend and stayed a notch below normal at 20.5 degrees. Fresh snowfall in Jammu & Kashmir brought relief from the intense cold in Kashmir Valley, although night temperatures across the Valley remained below freezing point. Srinagar — whose outskirts received a slight trace of snowfall — settled at minus 1.8, up from Wednesday night’s minus 3.2, a weather official said. Leh town in Ladakh region saw a slight drop in the night temperature from Wednesday night’s minus 19.4 degrees to minus 20.4 degrees. Himachal Pradesh, where avalanches killed seven people on Wednesday, continued to be swept by icy cold winds on what was a sunny day in the State. Although the sun was largely ineffective against the biting cold with the mercury in several areas of the State hovering at sub-zero levels, it did ensure that the maximum temperatures stayed close to normal. Most roads in the high altitude regions were blocked due to heavy snowfall, with Shimla, Kullu and Sirmaur districts rendered cut off from rest of the State. According to the weatherman, Keylong continued to be the coldest place in the State at minus 13.1 degrees. Manali shivered at minus 4.0, while Shimla recorded a minimum of two degrees. Cold conditions prevailed in Punjab and Haryana with the minimum temperatures dipping a few notches below normal in both States. Adding to the woes was the dense fog in the region which disrupted normal life in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Karnal. Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place in the region at 2.5 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, the weatherman office said here on Thursday. Mild sunshine in Uttar Pradesh meant that the maximum temperatures remained in the seven to 11 degrees Celsius range at a few places. Najibabad in Bijnore district was the coldest place in the State at 2.2 degrees. Temperatures were pointing slightly upwards in parts of Rajasthan. Vansthali recorded the lowest temperature at 3.4 degrees, while other areas of the State recorded lows of 6.9 to 10.2 degrees. — PTI