Ludhiana wakes up to season’s first fog, yellow alert for dense fog
According to IMD, the lowest visibility recorded on Saturday dropped to 500 metres and foggy conditions are likely to persist over the next few days
The city recorded its first foggy morning of the winter season on Saturday as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for dense fog.
The IMD has sounded a yellow alert for dense fog in Ludhiana for Saturday and Sunday. According to officials, the lowest visibility recorded on Saturday dropped to 500 metres, and foggy conditions are likely to persist over the next few days.
“It has just begun. The coming days will be foggy and the weather may clear after about a week,” said Surennpal Paul, director of the IMD Chandigarh Centre.
Explaining the classification, Paul said fog with visibility between 500 and 200 metres is categorised as moderate fog. Visibility between 50 and 200 metres is considered dense fog, while visibility below 50 metres is classified as very dense fog.
The IMD has also forecast a significant drop in temperatures. Paul said the maximum temperature is expected to fall by 4-5 degrees Celsius in the coming days. On Saturday, the maximum temperature stood at 20 degrees Celsius, which was two degrees below normal for the day.
He added that the region may also witness cold days ahead.
The IMD defines a cold day as one when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below, and the maximum temperature remains 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius below normal. When the maximum temperature drops more than 6.5 degrees Celsius below normal, it is categorised as a severe cold day.
Later in the month, there is also a possibility of a cold wave, Paul said. A cold wave occurs when the minimum temperature falls below 10 degrees Celsius and is also 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal. When the minimum temperature dips below 4 degrees Celsius, it is also considered a cold wave. If the minimum temperature falls more than 6.5 degrees below normal or drops below 2 degrees Celsius, it is classified as a severe cold wave.
