Cold wave persists across U.P., likely to continue in coming days

Meerut recorded the lowest temperature in the state at 3.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Churk at 4.1, Ghazipur and Najibabad at 5, and Muzaffarnagar and Moradabad at 5.2.

A cold wave to severe cold wave conditions persisted across various parts of Uttar Pradesh, causing a significant drop in both day and night temperatures on Tuesday, according to the Meteorological Department.

People sit around a bonfire to warm themselves during a cold and foggy winter morning, in Prayagraj, Tuesday. (PTI)

Meerut recorded the lowest temperature in the state at 3.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Churk at 4.1, Ghazipur and Najibabad at 5, and Muzaffarnagar and Moradabad at 5.2. Faizabad experienced 5.5 degrees Celsius. In other parts of UP, minimum temperatures remained in the range of 6-10° defrees Celsius.

Prayagraj chilled at 6 degrees Celsius, Varanasi (airport) shivered at 6.2, Sultanpur at 6.6, Hardoi, Basti, and Lakhimpur Kheri at 7, Bareilly at 7.5, Shahajhanpur at 7.8, and Gorakhpur at 8.7.

The maximum temperature in Lucknow was 14.2, which was 6.8 degrees Celsius below normal, and the minimum was 6.9 degrees Celsius. Agra recorded the lowest day temperature at 9.8 degrees Celsius, marking an 8.6-degree deviation below normal, while the minimum temperature was 6.4 degrees. The difference between day and night temperature was only 3.4 degrees. Day temperatures at Sultanpur and Agra were 11.1 and 11.2 degrees, respectively, which were 10 degrees below normal.

Dense to very dense fog was reported in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, with Jhansi and Varanasi at 25 and Meerut at 50, and moderate fog in isolated pockets of West Uttar Pradesh in Sultanpur, Fursatganj, and Gorakhpur at 200 meters each.

According to the India meteorological department (IMD) classification, ‘very dense’ fog occurs when visibility ranges from 0 to 50 meters, ‘dense’ fog is between 51 and 200 meters, ‘moderate’ is within 201 and 500 meters, and ‘shallow’ fog is in the range of 501 to 1,000 meters.

The forecast for Lucknow predicts shallow to moderate fog in the morning and mainly clear sky later. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be around 17 and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively. The state forecast indicates dry weather. The IMD has issued a warning of dense to very dense fog likely at isolated places over the state, with a possibility of cold day to severe cold day at isolated places.

The weather forecast for the next few days indicates a slight rise in minimum temperatures likely due to easterly winds.