Lucknow shivers at 2.6 degrees

Thick blanket of fog engulfed the state capital till 11 am, 18 flights affected

LUCKNOW : The state capital continued to shiver in the biting cold wave on Sunday as the mercury plummeted to 2.6 degrees Celsius ( five notches below normal) – the lowest minimum temperature recorded so far this season.

The maximum temperature was 19.3 degrees Celsius (two degrees below normal). As the relative humidity was 100%, a thick blanket of fog engulfed the city till 11 am.

On Friday and Saturday, Lucknow had minimum temperatures of 3 and 4 degrees respectively.

The all-time lowest temperature recorded in the city was minus -1 on January 31, 1964. On January 13, 2017 it was 0.1, on January 23, 2016 it was 2.1 and on January 11, 2015 3.4 degrees.

On Sunday, Bahraich was coldest in the state with a minimum temperature of 2.2 degrees Celsius. It was 7 degrees below normal. Fursatganj (Rae Bareli) shivered at 2.4 degrees, Najibabad (Bijnore) 2.8, Kanpur and Basti 3 degrees, Agra 3.7, Varanasi 4.4 and Gorakhpur 5 degrees.

The minimum temperatures in most towns of UP were below 6 degrees Celsius.

For Lucknow, the Met officials predicted mainly clear sky with moderate to dense fog very likely in the morning and at night. The maximum and minimum temperatures were likely to be around 18 and 2 degrees Celsius respectively.

The weather was most likely to remain dry with shallow to moderate fog likely at a few places

THE ALLTIME LOWEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED IN THE CITY WAS MINUS 1 ON JANUARY 31, 1964

over the state.

The Met department did not rule out possibility of ground frost at isolated places over the state. Due to fog, arrival and departure of 18 flights were affected at Lucknow’s Amausi airport.

As the cold wave intensified, those sleeping under the open sky and in night shelters were facing tough times. The inmates in shelters frequently fight over space, blankets and donations received.

“Rats run here and there all night and do not even fear crossing over our bodies,” lamented an inmate of a shelter home.

SUBHANKAR CHAKRABORTY/HT PHOTOS (Top and above) Passengers combating the cold at the Charbagh railway station in the wee hours of Sunday. Sunshine in the afternoon brought a little relief from the cold wave that has gripped the entire state.