Jamshedpur/Kolkata: Cold and dense fog has enveloped many parts of northern and eastern India, including Jharkhand. Dense fog covered the capital, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, and Bokaro, among other districts, disrupting normal life in the morning. Visibility dropped to less than 50 meters in many places. The MeT office issued a fog alert across Bengal as the minimum temperature dropped by several degrees.
According to the Meteorological Department, the weather conditions are expected to persist in many parts of Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bengal for the next few days. An alert has been issued in view of this. The fog has disrupted road, rail, and air traffic.
The Meteorological Department has stated that the weather in Jharkhand will remain dry until December 22nd. After this, light clouds may appear due to the influence of a western disturbance. However, rain is not currently expected.
Jharkhand’s temperature dropped by 3 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours. Ranchi recorded a minimum temperature of 9.3 degrees Celsius, while other districts experienced temperatures between 8 and 11 degrees Celsius.
In Kolkata and the surrounding areas, the temperature dropped to around 14 degrees Celsius. The Meteorological (MeT) office on Sunday issued a fog alert across West Bengal, especially in the south districts, for the next 24 hours.
The Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata’s Alipore said that there is a possibility of light to moderate fog in all the districts of North and South Bengal on Sunday and also on Monday morning. Due to the fog, visibility may drop from 999 to 200 metres. The fog will decrease from Monday afternoon onwards.
“The condition is favourable for dense fog across the state, especially in the districts of South Bengal. Once the fog clears, the temperature will rise slightly. However, there will again be a dip in the temperature once the weather clears,” said a MeT Department official.
Due to dense fog, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter could not land in Nadia district’s Taherpur area on Saturday, where he was scheduled to hold a public meeting. Later, he addressed the crowd virtually from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, Kolkata’s minimum temperature also plummeted to 14.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, making it the coldest day of the winter season so far. Along with this, Kolkata and several districts of South Bengal were covered in fog in the morning.
Till mid-December, there was no sign of a proper winter chill in and around Kolkata. The city’s minimum temperature fluctuated around 15-16 degrees Celsius. However, the situation changed on Saturday. Residents felt the chill of the cold north-easterly winds throughout the day. However, the meteorologist said that there will not be a sudden drop in temperature. Rather, the temperature will rise slightly as the fog clears. The temperature may drop again around Christmas. After that, the mercury will gradually begin to fall for some time.
On Saturday, the minimum temperature in Kolkata was 16.2 degrees Celsius. Compared to that, the temperature dropped by almost 2 degrees on Sunday morning. Temperatures have also dropped in other districts of the state. On Sunday morning, the minimum temperature in Kolkata was 14.4 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees below normal. On Saturday, the maximum temperature in Kolkata was 20.7 degrees Celsius, 5.4 degrees below normal.
