"A dark winter night! It seemed even the stars in the sky were shivering. Halku was sitting in his bamboo cot near his fields under shelter made out of sugar-cane leaves, wrapped in an old sheet he was shaking with cold. Under his cot was his dog, Jabra who had curled up and was whining due to the cold weather. Sleep evaded both of them."
The famous lines from Poos ki raat (A winter night), one of the most widely read and talked about stories by Munshi Premchand, one of the most celebrated writers in Hindi literature resembles a similarity with the prevailing biting cold conditions in Bihar.
People in Patna and most parts of the state continued to shiver on the third consecutive day on Thursday as the skies remained covered with clouds, while cold and dry westerly winds added to the discomfort factor. Life in general was thrown out of gear with people having been forced to brave cold-day and windy conditions at a time when the crisp weather is normally expected to depart.
Piyush Kumar Tripathi takes a look on how the crisp weather has turned severe and its impact.
Weather forecast
The weather gods are unlikely to show much mercy on residents until the weekend gets over. Weathermen claimed that though the system, which caused the inclement weather, has cleared from the state except extreme northeastern parts, cold-day conditions would be observed over the next 48 hours as well. Skies would start getting clear from Saturday onwards.
"Light rain was expected in the extreme northeastern and southeastern parts of the state on Thursday and Friday as well. The system would have completely cleared by Thursday but moisture incursion from a circulation over Odisha strengthened it. Maximum temperature across the state is expected to remain either unchanged or fall further by 1-2°C. Thus, an alert for cold-day condition would be in effect for the next 48 hours," said R.K. Giri, senior meteorologist, Patna meteorological centre.
Double whammy
Weathermen attributed the prevailing inclement weather to the impact of a double whammy of weather events. A western disturbance in lower Nepal and an induced anti-cyclonic circulation over Chhattisgarh-Odisha led to the showers and overcast conditions.
"The clouds and heavy moisture incursion from the western disturbance as well as the anti-cyclonic circulation created a thick patch of cloud cover over Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Though the system was weak, it persisted for three to four days," said an expert at Patna meteorological centre.
Schools closed
All government and private schools will remain closed till January 25 for students up to Class V because of extreme cold. District magistrate (DM) Sanjay Kumar Agrawal issued an order in this regard on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the DM had issued a notice regarding closure of schools up to Class VIII on Wednesday owing to overcast and rainy conditions. The order was extended by another day on Wednesday.
Shiver explained
Meteorologists claimed that windy conditions and minimal difference between the maximum and minimum temperature is leading to discomfort factor for the past couple of days.
"Westerly winds were blowing at an average speed of 12-15kmph in the morning and evening hours on Thursday. It was comparatively slow in the afternoon hours with wind speed reading 6-8kmph. Such wind speeds in low temperature is leading to shivery conditions," said Giri.
"The maximum temperature was recorded at 16.4°C and the minimum was at 12°C on Wednesday. Thus, the difference between the average daytime and night-time temperatures was a mere 4 notches. Similar temperature readings were witnessed on Thursday. Hence, the cooling in the day hours remained very close to that in the night hours, leading to the discomfort factor," said a weather expert.
Precautionary steps
The disaster management department has issued guidelines to all DMs to take a slew of measures under the prevailing cold day conditions. "As the poor and destitute are the worst hit under cold wave conditions, the disaster management department has asked all DMs to ensure sufficient bonfires, blankets and shelter houses for them," said Anirudh Kumar, special secretary, disaster management.
Health advisory
Health experts have suggested that people suffering from cardiac and blood pressure related disorders should take special precautions under the prevailing chilly conditions. Dr Diwakar Tejaswi has suggested that morning walks be avoided in the early morning hours.
"The chances of heart attacks and chronic blood pressure related ailments are higher under extreme cold conditions. Besides, people suffering from asthma and other breathing related ailments should also remain cautious," said Dr Diwakar.
Animal care
Patna zoo authorities have placed eight additional heaters besides covering the floors with straw and hay in the night houses. Heaters have been placed at the night houses of all animals in the cat family, including tigers, lions and leopards. Apart from their regular diet, all lions and tigers are being fed 2kg of chicken and 1kg of liver at breakfast."Apart from extra meat to carnivorous animals, deer are being fed with mahua fruit, which generates high energy. Moreover, vitamin supplements are being given to those animals, which are prone to cardiac and respiratory diseases," said a senior official at the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park.
Flight operations
The prevailing overcast conditions have also affected the operations of flights from Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport. The landing of flights started only after 2pm on Wednesday and Thursday owing to poor visibility conditions though the first flight is scheduled to land here at 12.15pm. None of the flights are however getting cancelled.
