Chandigarh, Jan 2 (IANS): Cold wave conditions continued in most parts of Punjab and Haryana on Thursday despite a marginal rise in mercury, but mild rains were expected in the coming days, said meteorological officials.

The Met Department has predicted light to moderate rain at a few places in Punjab and Haryana by Friday, which could further bring some relief from the cold and dry weather conditions.

Narnaul in Haryana and Faridkot in Punjab were the coldest with a low of 1.3 degrees and two degrees Celsius, respectively.

The holy city Amritsar in Punjab recorded 3 degrees Celsius, while it was 4.8 degrees in Ludhiana and 3.1 degrees in Bathinda, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told IANS.

While Haryana's Karnal town experienced a low of 4.6 degrees, a rise from Wednesday's 0.3 degrees, Hisar saw a low of 3.5 degrees and Ambala 5.5 degrees.

Dense fog prevailed at several places, especially along the highways. The road and rail traffic was partially affected due to the fog in both states.

Chandigarh recorded a low of 5.5 degrees Celsius, a rise of two degrees from Wednesday.

The minimum temperatures at most places were one to three degrees below the average.