E-Paper
UP battles biting cold: Dense fog blankets many parts, red alert in 50 districts
Relief commissioner’s office sends weather alerts through SMS to more than 12 crore mobile users in districts where red alert issued; max temperature in Lucknow plummets to 15.5 degrees
LUCKNOW As dense fog prevailed across several districts of Uttar Pradesh and persisted till late hours during the day on Friday, leading to cold day conditions in many parts, the office of relief commissioner sent weather alerts through SMS to more than 12 crore mobile users in districts where red alert was issued.
A three-day bulletin was issued, under which red alert was issued in 50 districts, orange alert in 17 districts and yellow alert in eight districts. A cold day alert was forecast for 40 districts.
The office of relief commissioner Dr Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod appealed to the general public to plan their travel keeping the weather warnings in mind. Continuous monitoring of blanket distribution, night shelters and bonfires was also being carried out, while emergency assistance is being provided through the 1070 helpline, an official statement said.
“The control room is monitoring the status of blanket distribution, night shelters and bonfires across all districts of the state. In case of an emergency, immediate assistance is being provided by calling 1070,” it added.
Meteorological officials attributed the weather conditions to the influence of westerly winds passing through north India. As a result, maximum temperatures in several areas fell significantly below normal over the past 72 hours, while minimum temperatures remained largely unchanged.
The maximum temperature in Lucknow plunged to 15.5 degrees, which was 7.5 degrees below normal while the minimum was 10.4 degrees. In Bahraich, the day temperature dropped to 13.4 degrees, which was nine degrees below normal. The day temperature in Ayodhya and Bareilly fell to 14 degrees, Shahajhanpur 14.4, Najibabad 14.5, Hardoi 14.6 and Sultapur 14.9 degrees.
Very dense fog (surface visibility below 50 meters) was witnessed at Agra Air Force, Bareilly Air Force Station, Kushinagar Airport and Gorakhpur (Air Force Station) reported zero visibility each while Bahraich reported 20 metres visibility.
Visibility dropped to 30 metres in Fatehgarh and Aligarh. At Lucknow airport, visibility was 100 metres.
According to the forecast, similar weather conditions are likely to continue over the next 24 to 48 hours, with dense to very dense fog and cold day to severe cold day conditions expected in around 40 districts of the state.
A gradual rise in temperature and reduction in fog intensity is likely thereafter with the influence of an approaching western disturbance.
In the plains, when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or less and the deviation of the maximum temperature from normal is between minus 4.5 and minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, such a condition is called a Cold Day. If the deviation of the maximum temperature from normal is greater than minus 6.5 degrees Celsius, it is called a severe cold day.
Meanwhile, chief secretary SP Goyal conducted a high-level meeting with officials from various departments, focussing on public safety and preventing road accidents due to fog.
He said passengers at toll plazas should be continuously alerted through loudspeakers and strict action should be taken against those violating rules and over speeding. Patrolling should be increased on expressways, extra vigilance should be maintained at black spots, teams should be deployed, and cranes and ambulances should be made available 24/7, the chief secretary added.
The chief secretary also directed that availability of street lighting, reflectors, patrolling and emergency services be ensured. Inputs from PTI
