Zero Visibility Hits Uttar Pradesh, Cold Day Alert Issued As Kanpur & Etawah Record Lowest Temperature

The weather department has issued a cold day alert for several districts in Uttar Pradesh, with temperatures expected to drop further in the next few days.

UP Weather Update: A severe cold wave continues to have a vice grip on Uttar Pradesh. The biting cold is a result of icy winds blowing out from the mountains. A further drop in maximum and minimum temperatures is expected soon, which will intensify the cold. The mercury has dropped rapidly in UP capital Lucknow in the last 24 hours. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also issued a yellow alert for dense fog and cold day conditions in many parts of the state.

According to the IMD, the weather is expected to be clear in western UP on Saturday, but dense fog may be seen in the morning and evening in eastern UP. A thick blanket of fog has been covering many districts including Ayodhya, Varanasi and Prayagraj since morning. The impact of this was seen on the roads as vehicles slowed to a crawl. An alert has also been issued for cold day conditions in many parts of eastern UP. Visibility was reduced to zero in several areas.

"Cold Day conditions very likely in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and in some parts of East Uttar Pradesh on January 4," an IMD bulletin read. 

Coldest Day In Lucknow

The temperature in Lucknow dropped sharply on Friday. The minimum temperature reached 6.6°C, which was the coldest day of the season. The maximum temperature was 17°C. Due to the cold, most of the schools in UP have been shut. People have been advised to stay indoors and protect themselves from the cold. People are seeking protection from bonfires to escape the cold.  

Cold Day Alert in UP

A yellow alert for fog has been issued in Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Gonda, Ayodhya, Amethi, Pratapgarh, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Chandauli, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Mau, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Ambedkarnagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti and Maharajganj in UP. A cold day alert has been issued in Jaunpur, Pratapgarh, Amethi, Barabanki, Rae Bareli, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Allahabad, Chitrakoot and Banda.

The minimum temperature is likely to drop to 8°C on Saturday before rising steadily TO 12°C till Monday. By January 9, the temperature is expected to drop again till 7°C, as per the IMD.

The lowest temperature in UP was recorded in Kanpur and Etawah, where the minimum temperature was 4.6° Celsius. The minimum temperature in Ayodhya was 5°C, in Phursatganj 5.5°C, in Aligarh and Varanasi 6.5°C, in the capital Lucknow 6.6°C, in Bulandshahr, Barabanki and Ballia 7°C, in Meerut 7.1°C, in Fatehpur 7.2°C, in Jhansi 7.4°C, in Agra 7.6°C and in Prayagraj the minimum temperature was 7.8 degrees Celsius.