Day temp plummets as fog blankets U.P, IMD issues red alert for 25 districts

Dense fog in Uttar Pradesh prompts red alert for 25 districts, with visibility severely impacted and temperatures dropping below normal levels.

Dense fog enveloped several parts of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, severely impacting visibility and prompting the India Meteorological Department to issue weather warnings in the form of a red alert for 25 districts for the next 48 hours even as the day temperature fell sharply to 9 degrees below normal while the minimum temperature was 4 degrees below normal in many places, according to an IMD bulletin.

People sit around a bonfire amid dense fog on a cold winter morning, in Lucknow, Sunday. (PTI)

Bareilly, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj recorded zero-metre visibility for the first time this winter season between 2.30am and 8.30am.

There will be no relief on Monday either as the met department has predicted dense to very dense fog very likely at many places across the state.

Meerut was the coldest place on the day with a minimum temperature of 2.9 degrees Celsius while Lucknow recorded its lowest minimum temperature of the season at 5.9 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Lucknow was 14.5, which was 6.2 degrees below normal.

Muzaffarnagar shivered at 4 degrees Celsius (minimum temperature), Fatehgarh at 4.2, Churk at 5, Aligarh and Orai at 5.2, the Taj city Agra at 5.4 degrees Celsius, Bareilly 6.4, Sultanpur 7.8 and Gorakhpur 8.3 degrees Celsius. Fatehgarh recorded the lowest maximum temperature at 10 degrees Celsius, which was 9.3 degrees below normal. The day temperature in Shahjahanpur was 12 degrees Celsius, Bareilly 12.1 degrees, Faizabad and Hardoi 13 and Bahraich 13.4.

The fog was so dense in the morning that the OCR building at Burlington crossing was not visible from across the road. The streets were all deserted till 10am and those few who ventured out in their vehicles had to switch on their fog lights.

The met department has issued a red alert for 25 districts that will experience dense fog, cold day and cold wave in the next 48 hours. These districts are: Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Unnao, Lucknow, Barabanki, Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras, Kasganj and Etah.

There is a possibility of dense fog in Mainpuri, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, Badaun and surrounding areas too.

The IMD urged commuters on highways to exercise extreme caution and use fog lights while driving. Moreover, considering the hazardous conditions, it advised to halt journeys until visibility improves, especially on expressways.

In addition to fog warnings, the IMD has highlighted the likelihood of cold day to severe cold day conditions in few places in Uttar Pradesh. Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are predicted in certain areas of in Uttar Pradesh.

The IMD’s warnings indicate that dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to prevail during the night and morning hours till January 16 in various parts of the state.

There is also a forecast for ground frost is very likely at isolated places in West UP.