Snug solution
Covered in warm clothes, two women walk down a road near Gandhi Maidan in Patna
on Friday. Picture by Ashok Sinha
A warm weekend is in store after a couple of days' shiver.
Weathermen claimed that the factors that led to shivery weather would stabilise by Saturday, paving the way for a comparatively warmer Sunday. The minimum temperature is expected to be around 9°C and the maximum around 20°C in the weekend.
The city was in the grip of chilly winds and fog blanket in medium-level of atmosphere, leading to plunge in the day temperature over the past two days.
Difference in wind speed in different layers of atmosphere led to lifting of the fog cover in the medium level of the atmosphere and formation of cloud-like envelope over the city till noon on Friday. Westerly winds were blowing at an average speed of 16-18kmph, prompting the chilly condition.
'A western disturbance passing far north of Bihar, from altitude even above Nepal, led to sudden inflow of moisture in the state. The moisture content was, however, not strong enough to completely block the solar rays. As a result of the partial solar radiation, the moisture got lifted in the medium level of the atmosphere and formed a cloud-like layer. This caused hazy skies till noon,' said R.K. Giri, a senior meteorologist at Patna meteorological centre.
With fog-cover till 1pm, the maximum temperature in the city plunged to 18.5°C, five notches lower than the normal. It was recorded at 21°C on Thursday.
The northern parts of the state were worst affected by the fog cover. Bhagalpur faced day-cold condition with the maximum temperature standing at 16.4°C, nine notches lower than the normal.
Day-cold condition is said to be prevailing at a place when the maximum temperature is around eight to 10°C below the normal temperature.
The weather conditions in the city did not qualify for the day-cold condition, but the shiver did affect people. Chilly winds forced most residents to cover themselves with woollens from head to toe. Schoolchildren were the worst-hit, as they had to venture out in windy condition as early as 6 in the morning.
The district administration, however, did not issue any directive for schools. 'We have not taken any call on school closure because of cold,' Patna district magistrate Abhay Kumar Singh said.
The weathermen claimed that the fog-cover was positioned around 8-10km above earth's surface, but it did not affect the flight operations from Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport. Flights started landing around 12.30pm and none of them was cancelled.
Though the sub-10 chills made a comeback in the past couple of days, residents can expect slight rise in temperature conditions Sunday onwards. Patna meteorological centre director Ashish Sen said the wind direction is expected to change from dry westerly to moist easterly from Monday.
'An anti-cyclonic circulation is likely to form in the Bay of Bengal around Sunday, which would lead to easterly winds in the region. The moist and warm easterly winds would lead to slight rise in the temperature,' said Sen.
Weathermen said the departure of winter is expected only around the second week of February. In broader terms, if the actual minimum temperature remains four to five notches above normal for five to six consecutive days after the third week of January, it is considered as the departure of winter.
