Cold conditions continued to sweep Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, though mercury went up by two notches above normal.

Amritsar remained the coldest place in the region as it recorded a minimum temperature of 1.2 degree Celsius, dipping by three notches below normal, the MET office said here.

Chandigarh recorded a low of 7 deg C, up by one degree against average temperature.

In Punjab, Ludhiana and Patiala saw mercury settling at 7.8 deg C and 8.0 deg C respectively, rising by two degrees above normal.

In Haryana, Ambala and Rohtak recorded a similar low of 6.7 deg C, while Karnal recorded a minimum of 9 deg C.

Bhiwani, Narnaul and Hisar recorded minimum temperature of 5.4 d