Changing weather conditions have been triggering a plethora of diseases among residents of all ages.

Monday was no better. People woke up to a hazy morning. As the day wore on, it got no better. The local Met office attributed the conditions to local moisture build-up and northeasterly winds for bringing in more moisture. The weathermen predicted that the temperature would dip after Saturday.

Anandpuri resident Nupur Srivastava (34) said she had been suffering from cough and cold for the past three days.

Doctors said sudden change in weather conditions have pushed up cases of upper respiratory tract infections, viral fever, cough and cold, allergy, conjunctivitis and others. Cases of asthma and nasal allergy are also being reported.

JKL Das, the head of the Patna Medical College and Hospital medicine department, said: "Allergy cases have shot up at our department in the past week." He, however, could not share the exact figures coming to the hospital's outpatient department.

Another doctor of the same department, Vibhu Priyadarshi, said: "Earlier, only 4-5 per cent cases coming to the outpatient department were of upper respiratory tract infection, viral fever, cough and cold. Now, such cases have risen by 20 to 30 per cent. Everyday, around 600 people come to the outpatient department."

"We expect the temperature to slide after Saturday. While the maximum temperature is expected to slip to 28ºC, the minimum is likely to come down to 14-15ºC," said R.K. Giri, senior meteorologist at Patna Meteorological Office.

Talking about the precautions, he said: "People should wear full-sleeve dresses. People should avoid sleeping under the fan even if they feel discomfort."

Physician Diwakar Tejaswi said apart from increase in cases of common cold and flu, there had also been an increase in the cases of asthma and hypertension. "Patients experiencing breathlessness with wheezing are also coming to me. People suffering from cough and cold and sneezing should definitely use handkerchiefs. People aged above 55, who are suffering from cough and cold, should get the pneumococcal vaccine and children should get the flu vaccine."

Ophthalmologist Sunil Kumar Singh said he was getting five to six cases of eye allergy and conjunctivitis everyday against one to two cases of both earlier.

All these medical experts maintained that the diurnal variation of temperature was the root cause of the problems people were facing, as high humidity was proving congenial for viral growth.