IMD issues red alert: Very dense fog in U.P. for 2 days

LUCKNOW: Very dense fog will envelop the state for the next couple of days, as per the weatherman. The Indian meteorological department (IMD) has issued a red alert warning for dense fog in 30 districts, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Mathura, Bulandshahr, Etawah, Mainpuri and several other places.

Fog reduced visibility at several places in UP on Wednesday morning, a met department official said. Visibility in Lucknow and Varanasi dropped to zero metre, Ayodhya, Fatehpur, Orai and Shajhanpur recorded 10 m visibility, Kanpur and Basti 20 m and Barabanki, Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri recorded 50 m visibility, said Mohd Danish, Met in charge Lucknow.

A passenger who arrived from Delhi to Charbagh railway station by a train said it reached late by four hours and the fog was so dense that one could not see the beautiful architecture of the railway station.

The season’s worst fog across swathes of north India led to a pile-up of at least 12 vehicles on the Delhi-Agra Yamuna Expressway at Dayanatpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida on Wednesday.

IMD, the country’s nodal weather agency, has advised people to avoid travel during the morning and evening hours as visibility in some districts of the state will drop to zero metres.

Lucknow was enveloped under a thick cover of fog on Wednesday morning that took people by surprise because it was devoid of the usual winter chill. The fog applied brakes on normal speed while a section of concerned parents wanted the district administration to alter school timings to ensure students’ safety as they had to travel long distances to reach their school.

With visibility dropping to zero in the state capital, several trains got delayed while a few others were cancelled. Similarly, two Lucknow-bound international flights were diverted to Delhi and Jaipur while 22 flights got delayed, an official said.

Minister of state for transport (independent charge) Dayashankar Singh directed officials of UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) officials to ensure that the crew stopped buses at nearby bus stations, plazas, petrol pumps, police stations or any other secure location in the event of reduced visibility caused by fog.

Lucknowite Seema Srivastava, whose younger son goes to a prominent school in the city, said that it was high time school timings were changed in view of fog. “We had to get up early at 6 am to get him ready so that he reached school on time that starts at 7:50 am,” she said.

In the old city, morning walkers said that the iconic Bada Imambada, Chhota Imambada and the Clock Tower were not visible even from a little distance because of dense fog.

Maximum and minimum temperature in the state capital remained at 22.6 and 10 degrees Celsius. Forecast for Lucknow is dense to very dense fog during morning hours and mainly clear sky later. Maximum and minimum temperature will be around 24 and 10 degree Celsius respectively.

Hamirpur recorded the lowest temperature in UP at 5.2 degrees Celsius, Kanpur city 6.9, Meerut 8.6, Churk and Bahraich 8.8 and Ghazipur 9.3 degrees Celsius.