IMD issues red alert with dense fog, cold day conditions likely to persist in UP

A pedestrian walks through dense fog on a cold winter morning.

A red alert was issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday as dense to very dense fog and cold day conditions are expected to persist across several parts of Uttar Pradesh.

The IMD warned that the adverse weather is likely to persist over the next two days.

According to a press release issued by the Meteorological Centre, Lucknow, dense fog conditions were recorded across large parts of the state over the past 24 hours, with visibility dropping sharply in many districts. Very dense fog, with visibility below 50 metres, was observed at Agra airport, Prayagraj, Kanpur (airport), Bareilly, Jhansi and several other locations.

The IMD said that cold day conditions were reported in many districts, particularly in western, central and eastern Uttar Pradesh, as cold northerly winds, surface inversion and the influence of an anti-cyclone continued to prevail over the region. A western disturbance over north India and the weakening of the tropical westerly jet stream have also contributed to the prevailing weather pattern, it said, PTI reported.

The weather office warned that dense to very dense fog is likely to continue during late night and early morning hours in several districts till December 22, while cold day to severe cold day conditions may persist in isolated pockets till December 24.

According to IMD criteria, for any place where the temperature plummets below 10 degrees Celsius, a 'cold day' is declared when the maximum temperature fluctuation remains 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius below normal, while a 'severe cold day' is when the departure exceeds 6.5 degrees Celsius.

Districts including Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Bareilly, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Rae Bareli, Sitapur, Hardoi, Etawah, Mainpuri, Aligarh and Mathura are among those likely to be affected by dense fog and cold day conditions, the IMD said.

The weather office has advised people to take precautions, especially during early morning hours, and urged authorities to remain alert as low visibility could disrupt road, rail and air traffic.