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Thick fog continues in Varanasi as mercury dips 3 degrees below normal
While the maximum temperature on the day was recorded at 21 degrees Celsius, IMD said the extreme weather was due to cold waves in the northern states
Varanasi remained enveloped in dense fog, drastically reducing visibility, for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, when the minimum temperature fell to 9 degrees Celsius, 3 degrees below normal, weathermen said.
Boatmen and people residing on the banks of the Ganga said never before had they experienced such weather conditions. “The fog’s intensity can be gauged from the fact that until 8 am we couldn’t see even the Ganga,” said Gopal Majhi, a boatman at Assi Ghat.
While the maximum temperature on the day was recorded at 21 degrees Celsius, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the extreme weather was the fallout of cold waves in the northern states, under the impact of which dense fog was expected for the next three days.
As per the latest weather report, Kashi is likely to see mercury hover between 11 degrees and 27 degrees Celsius on Thursday. Similar conditions are likely to prevail for the next couple of days.
The extreme weather may have brought down the temperature below normal, but pushed up the revenue of ‘chaiwalas’ here. Be it the traditional team shops or the roadside tea shops, all did brisk business.
Vijay Malya, the owner of a famous tea shop at Assi Ghat, said his business went up over the last two days and expected his daily profits to go further north in the near future.
