Chandigarh, Jan 7 : There was no respite from the bone chilling cold for the residents of Punjab, Haryana and the joint capital Chandigarh, even as mild sunshine greeted them Thursday.

"Intense cold wave running through the northern plains has led to a sharp fall in both day and night temperatures. In most parts of the region, the mercury remained two to three degrees below normal," said a Met official here Thursday.

He added: "There was a dense fog in this area Thursday morning that reduced the visibility level to below 50 metres. We are expecting foggy evenings and mornings in the coming days."

Punjab's holy city Amritsar was coldest in the region Thursday, with a minimum temperature of 1.6 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperatures at Ludhiana and Patiala cities were registered at 5 and 5.7 degrees, respectively.

The union territory of Chandigarh recorded a minimum temperature of 4 degrees, which was 3 degrees below the average.

"Dry weather conditions will prevail in the region for the next four-five days and after that we are expecting isolated spells of rain. This would bring relief from fog," said the official.

In Haryana, minimum temperatures at Ambala, Karnal and Hisar towns were recorded at 3.3, 5.7 and 8.4 degrees, respectively. (IANS)