E-Paper
Punjab: Expect further mercury drop as IMD issues orange alert
According to the IMD’s bulletin, minimum temperatures are likely to drop by 3° to 5° Celsius over the next two days, resulting in bone-chilling conditions
After light to moderate rainfall at isolated places on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert, predicting a cold wave and dense to very dense fog across several parts of the state over the next few days. Both minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to fall further, the country’s nodal weather agency said.
According to the IMD’s bulletin, minimum temperatures are likely to drop by 3° to 5° Celsius over the next two days, resulting in bone-chilling conditions. The IMD said light to moderate rainfall occurred at isolated places in Punjab during the past 24 hours. The showers were accompanied by thunder and lightning at a few locations. Dense to very dense fog was also observed at isolated places.
Bathinda recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 17.4°C, while Gurdaspur reported the lowest minimum temperature at 6.8°C. The IMD officials informed that the minimum temperatures in the state was in the range of 3-7 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
The rainfall activity is being attributed to a western disturbance that has moved over Punjab and neighbouring areas. As per the forecast, dense to very dense fog is likely at several places, particularly during night and early morning hours, over the next few days. Cold wave conditions are expected to prevail at isolated places in the state, with some districts also likely to experience cold day conditions.
Cold wave is considered when the minimum temperature of a station drops to 10°C or less for plains and 0°C or less for Hilly regions. Cold wave is a condition of air temperature which becomes fatal to the human body if exposed.
The IMD has advised people to exercise caution while travelling due to reduced visibility caused by fog and to take necessary precautions against the prevailing cold wave conditions.
“We have issued an orange alert for the next 48 hours for cold waves and dense fog. People have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel,” said a senior IMD official.
