Heavy fog shrouds central UP, rain likely in next 48 hrs

LUCKNOW : Thick fog engulfed central Uttar Pradesh districts on Wednesday morning reducing visibility to less than a few meters for several hours affecting daily life. The fog added to the chill with the minimum temperature hovering around 10-degree mark in the state.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued forecast of rain in central and west UP in the next 48 hours.

Lucknow recorded minimum temperature of 11.6 degrees Celsius which was four degrees above normal. “Scattered rainfall is very likely to occur in central and West UP districts on January 5 and 6. This will be followed by widespread rain over central India including parts of

UP on January 7 and 8,” reads IMD forecast on Thursday. Besides Lucknow, the minimum temperature in Meerut was recorded at 8.9 degrees Celsius, 8.2 degree Celsius in Kanpur. Mercury dropped to 10.1 and 10 degrees Celsius in Varanasi and Prayagraj respectively. Agra recorded a minimum temperature of 11.7 degrees Celsius.

LUCKNOW: Fresh Covid cases doubled in Uttar Pradesh in 24 hours, while the number of active cases under treatment went up by over 300% since January 1. In all, 2038 new Covid cases were reported in the state on Wednesday against 992 on Tuesday. The number of active cases under treatment is now 5198, in the state. As many as 51 patients recovered in the past 24 hours. Earlier, new cases numbered around 2000 in the last week of May 2021. On May 30 2021, there were 1908 fresh cases and on May 29, 2287 new cases were reported.

The number of active cases under treatment is now 5198, similar to the number in the third week of June 2021.

“As many as 192430 samples were tested in the past 24 hours. The test positivity rate has gone up but need for hospitalisation among Covid positive cases is minimal as they have mild symptoms,” said Amit Mohan Prasad, additional chief secretary, medical and health, in a press statement. “In districts with over 1000 active cases, schools up to Class 10 will remain till January 14 while places such as cinema halls, gyms, spas, banquet halls and restaurants will have to operate with 50% capacity. At present, only Gautam Buddha Nagar has over 1000 active cases,” he said.

Covid vaccination

The number of total first dose of Covid vaccine administered in Uttar Pradesh till now crossed the 13-crore mark on Wednesday. By 5 pm on Wednesday, 20,63,18,100 doses of the vaccine were administered in the state.