PATNA: The Patna Meteorological Centre on Wednesday issued fresh orange alert for cold day along with dense fog expected on Thursday and Friday as mercury continued to be in the range of 7-10 degrees C at most places in the state.
Though bright sunny skies provided slight respite from the biting cold conditions to the residents on Wednesday, weathermen are of the view that day temperature may plummet, paving way for cold day conditions.
As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) norms, cold day condition is declared at a place when minimum temperature touches 10 degrees C or low and there is a departure of 4.5-6.4 degrees C in maximum temperature on two consecutive days.
“Minimum temperature is being recorded lower owing to cold westerly winds along with fog in the morning. Cold day conditions were also observed at Darbhanga, Chhapra and Muzaffarpur. Minimum temperature is unlikely to change much in the next 24 hours,” said Ravindra Kumar, an officer at Patna weather office.
Gaya remained the coldest place in the state with minimum temperature recorded at 5.3 degrees C. It was four notches lower than the corresponding normal for the day. The minimum temperature at Patna was recorded at 8.4 degrees C, which was two notches lower than the corresponding normal.
Patna weather office has predicted minimum temperature in the range of 7-10 degrees C at most places in north Bihar, while the maximum is likely to hover around 16-20 degrees C on Thursday and Friday.
Districts in south-west Bihar are likely to be the coldest in the morning over the next two days as the Met office has predicted minimum temperature in Buxar, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Arwal and other districts in the range of 5-7 degrees C. Day temperature, on the other hand, is likely to be in the range of 19-22 degrees C at most places in south Bihar.
Temperature apart, the Met office has predicted light to moderate fog at most places in the state over the next two days. “Cold day conditions are likely to be witnessed at a few places in north-western and north-central parts of the state over the next 48 hours,” Ravindra said.