Friday turned out to be the coldest day with mercury dropping to 2.6 degree Celsius. The dipping mercury not only broke the records of minimum temperature witnessed on January 4 (3.0 degree Celsius) this year, it also matched the record of minimum mercury level registered on January 5, 2006. Similarly, the maximum temperature in the day stood at 10.8 degree C. High humidity (100%) also indicated that the fog might last for another couple of days in the region.
Pappu, a tea vendor of Asi, was busy serving tea to a crowd of shivering people. He also had an inviting (coal) fire ready. "I have witnessed extremely cold conditions in the past, but the first week of the New Year (2011) has proved enough to test the nerve of steel as it is getting colder day by day," said the man who was wrapped in a blanket from head to toe. "First, it was the coldwave that forced people to remain indoors. Now it is fog that is bringing life to a halt. Life is definitely getting more difficult as the weather conditions are making even normal routine activities a challenge," he added.
All neighbouring shops were closed and only betel shops were open showing some activity in the area. Such was the wrath of weather in the day that almost all public places, including Cantonment railway station, roadways bus stand and world famous ghats, wore a deserted look. Similarly, most parts of the city and the rural pockets remained wrapped in thick fog for most parts of the day and only feeble sunlight appeared in the afternoon.
"The appearance of fog in the region is an indication of western disturbances across the country. Similarly, fresh snowfall in Himalayan region have brought coldwave to the region and suggest that the conditions are likely to prevail for the next 48 to 72 hours with mercury promising to drop even further," said weather scientist from department of Geophysics, BHU, SN Pandey.
Meanwhile, a number of trains, mostly long-distance, including New Delhi-bound Shivganga Express and Kashi Vishwanath Express, Dehradun-bound Doon Express, Jaipur-bound Marudhar Express and those going towards northern region, continued to run late by more than three hours. Similarly, more than 50% of buses bound for long routes were being cancelled due to the extreme cold.
Bonfires continued to be lit at a number of areas apart from prominent crossings and police outposts in the city.
from The Times of India
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