Traffic hit on NH 33 due to poor visibilityÂ
Jamshedpur, Dec. 8: The meteorological department today issued a dense fog alert in Jharkhand for the next 72-hours. Weathermen said that rising humidity in the atmosphere due to the impact of a western disturbance coupled with a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal would result in dense fog at a few isolated pockets, especially those located in higher altitudes.
” The dense fog would result in visibility loss. The surface visibility might go down below 700 metres at some places early in the morning for the next three days,” said a senior official of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre.
The Met official went on to say that there won’t be much significant changes in the minimum temperatures, which is presently hovering below 17 degrees in most parts of Jharkhand.
The IMD centre in Patna and the Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore in Kolkata have also issued a dense morning fog warning in isolated pockets of the state in the next three days.
” Early morning fog is expected in higher altitudes in the next 72-hours,” said a duty officer at the Calcutta-based Met centre.
The duty officer also hinted at a fall in minimum readings from Sunday. “The cold wave conditions are expected to grip Jharkhand in the last week of December. The cold wave already made its debut in neighbouring Odisha and Madhya Pradesh,” said the Met official.
Meanwhile, with mercury taking a plunge below 10 degree Celsius the sale of woolen garments and room heaters has gained momentum. ” The flow of customers is more for the last couple of days due to the chilled weather,” said a stall owner at the Tibet Market in Golmuri.
The fog reduced surface visibility to 700 metre in Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas soon after sun-rise around 6.15 am and to 9,000 metres in Ranchi and Bokaro. According to weathermen, several other places like Seraikela-Kharsawan, Chaibasa in West Singhbhum and Khunti, witnessed moderate fog which reduced the surface visibility.
Traffic was hit as visibility on NH-33 between Ranchi and Jamshedpur was reduced to around 700 metre between 6.15 and 7.15 am, slowing down morning traffic. The fog resulted in poor visibility in several other places in Kolhan including Chandil, Manoharpur, Kandra and Ghatshila.
