Jagran correspondent, Saharanpur. For the first time in the winter season, severe fog and cold have created havoc in the district. Life was badly affected due to cold and fog. A drop of 7.0 degrees has been recorded in the day temperature and the Meteorological Department is predicting that fog, cold and cold wave will continue for the next four days.
Till Tuesday, the weather of the district was quite pleasant, with the sun shining, the cold was not showing any effect, but suddenly on Wednesday the weather changed rapidly. The thick blanket of fog that had formed since last midnight could not be removed throughout the day.
The fog was so dense that the Sun God could not be seen the whole day, and the severe cold left no stone unturned in making one shiver. As the winter progressed, the temperature also dropped rapidly and compared to the previous day, on Wednesday the night temperature dropped by 2.5 degrees and the day temperature dropped by 7.0 degrees Celsius.
On Wednesday, the minimum temperature reached 8.5 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 11.0 degrees Celsius with a huge drop. Government Meteorological Observatory in-charge Amir Alam is predicting that the weather will remain like this for the next four days and winter fog and cold wave will increase. Speed brakes on the highway.
Due to the severe fog, the speed of vehicles got slowed down not only on the highways but also on the main roads. Most of the vehicles kept crawling at night and were forced to pass with lights on even during the day. On the other hand, rail traffic has also been significantly affected, about half a dozen long distance trains are running late by two to four and a half hours and passengers are facing travel problems. Markets also open late and close early.
Due to fog and cold, major markets also opened late on Wednesday. In the markets which used to be busy till 10 am, the shutters of most of the shops were raised after around 11:30 am. There was a crowd in the markets during the day but more people were seen at the shops selling warm clothes. Even in the evening, the markets started closing early and the restaurants, which remained open till late night, remained devoid of customers.
Government employees kept warming themselves
Due to the worsening cold, employees in government offices arrived late and were seen warming themselves on fire or on heaters to protect themselves from the cold. There was a significant decrease in the number of complainants, people were forced to leave their homes wrapped in thick warm clothes only when necessary, due to which government offices appeared deserted.
Also read- Administration took steps to save school children from cold wave in Saharanpur, changed the timing of schools.
Naunihal reached school shivering.
Amidst the severe cold and fog, children were forced to reach school shivering. Although the administration had given instructions to change the school timings last day and the schools opened at 9:30 in the morning, but due to fog and cold, the children were forced to stay in the cold.
Fog will affect vegetables
There is a possibility of fog affecting vegetables and oilseeds also. All vegetables including potatoes, peas, tomatoes will be affected due to frost. Wheat may also be affected. Apart from this, if flowers have appeared on mustard and peas, they will fall, not only this, the crops of mango, litchi and guava will also be affected.