As Uttar Pradesh reels under intense cold, Kanpur freezes at 0 degrees Celsius

LUCKNOW: As a severe cold wave gripped central and Bundelkhand regions of UP on Tuesday, minimum temperatures plummeted to almost freezing levels at several districts with Kanpur recording zero degree Celsius — coldest in country’s plains — followed closely by Bahraich and Lucknow with 0.2 and 0.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.
If in Kanpur, drop in mercury broke 48-year-old record of lowest temperature in the month of December, in Lucknow it was second lowest in 67 years.These minimum temperatures were lower than the ones recorded at hill stations like Shimla (1.2) and Nainital (3). Jhansi in Bundelkhand also reeled under intense cold with minimum temperature 1.8 degrees Celsius, said to be lowest in past several decades.
Dense fog enveloped many parts of the state, affecting air, rail and road traffic. The visibility dropped in Lucknow, Kanpur, Baharaich and Gorakhpur below 25 metres; Hardoi, Sultanpur and Varanasi below 50 metres and Rae Bareli, Fatehpur and Mirzapur below 200 metres.
Rain expected in parts of state in first week of January
State Met director JP Gupta said that there will be some relief from the chilly conditions and fog with the change of wind pattern from Wednesday, but it will be short-lived.
A western disturbance has hit Himalayas, which will cause snowfall in the hills and lead to cloudy sky and rainfall is many parts of UP, including Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Faizabad, Kanpur and Lucknow from Wednesday till Sunday. The probability of rainfall is more on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
While entire state reeled under intense cold on Tuesday, Kanpur city was the worst hit as it was in the grip of both the ‘severe cold day’ and severe cold wave conditions. While lowest level of mercury in the Kanpur city was 8 degrees below normal, the maximum temperature – peak value to which mercury rose during the day – 9.8 degrees Celsius, 13 notches below normal. However, the observatory at the Indian Air Force station in Kanpur recorded maximum and minimum temperatures as 11.3 and 1.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.
“Clear sky in the night and dense fog coupled with icy winds during the day were the prime factors responsible for biting cold in Kanpur,” met officials said.
In Ayodhya, many devotees avoided taking dip in chilly waters of Saryu due to intense cold in the early hours of morning with temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius.
In Gorakhpur, Tuesday morning was the coldest this winter so far when the temperature dropped to 4 degrees Celsius.
Three people reportedly died in Basti due to extreme cold. Relief commissioner office, however, did not confirm any death so far due to cold in the state.