Ludhiana wakes up to blanket of fog for third day in a row, orange alert issued

Meteorological experts at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) centre on Wednesday issued an orange alert for foggy weather.

The same comes at a time when a thick blanket of fog is being witnessed in the outer areas of the city during the early morning.

Concurrently, the air quality index (AQI) of the city has also taken a hit, with the city touching 245 points to remain in the poor category on Wednesday.

Meteorological experts said the prevailing still-air condition, coupled with dense fog has led to a rise in the level of pollution in the city.

So far, December 18 remained the most polluted day of the winter season with the AQI plummeting to 332 points.

Climate change and agricultural meteorology department head Pavneet Kaur Kingra said the still condition with air speed less than 5km per hour was the reason behind rise in temperature. The dust emitting through vehicular movement compounded the problem. However, the conditions are likely to improve in the coming day.

PAU warns father of winter damages

Experts of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have advised the vegetable growers to protect winter vegetables from frost-related damages.

Varsity vice-chancellor Dr Satbir Singh Gosal observed that vegetable production was severely affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses, adding, “One such abiotic factor was frost, and that potato and summer season vegetables like cucurbits, chilli, tomato and brinjal were highly affected by frost.”

Gosal said winter vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, onion and garlic are not easily affected despite being sown in October-November, but urged the farmers to adopt PAU-recommended techniques for better yield and to fetch higher prices in the market.