Cold wave wreaks havoc in Punjab, mercury below normal, orange alert in 10 districts

Chandigarh: Now the cold wave has increased the severity of cold with dense fog in Punjab. Due to cold wave on Monday, the minimum temperature of Adampur in Amritsar, Bathinda and Jalandhar fell below normal. Amritsar’s temperature was 3.6 degrees, which was 0.7 degrees below normal, while Bathinda’s minimum temperature was 4.4 degrees (0.5 degrees below normal) and Adampur’s minimum temperature was 3.0 degrees Celsius.

Visibility in Adampur, Halwara and Bathinda also remained only 0 to 50 meters. Visibility was 50 to 200 meters in Amritsar, 200 to 500 meters in Ludhiana and 2000 to 4000 meters in Patiala and Pathankot. The Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for the next two days. Under this, there will be cold wave with dense fog in 10 districts while only dense fog will prevail in the remaining districts. These 10 districts include Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Firozpur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Moga and Bathinda.

According to AK Singh, Director of Chandigarh Center of Meteorological Department, in the coming 48 hours, due to cold wave accompanied by dense fog, the minimum temperature may drop by two degrees. He said that in districts with dense fog, visibility may be less than 50 meters. The department has advised drivers to slow down their driving, pedestrians to follow traffic rules and elderly and children to avoid going out too much during morning and evening hours.

According to the forecast of the department, the weather will remain dry in the coming days but the cold will increase due to dense fog and cold wave. Among the rest of the districts of Punjab, the minimum temperature of Ludhiana was recorded at 9.8 degrees, Patiala at 7.6 degrees and Pathankot at 5.8 degrees.