Kanpur shivers as mercury drops to 3.2 Celsius due to westerly winds

KANPUR: The city is reeling under extreme cold conditions as it witnessed the coldest night on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday when temperature was recorded at 3.2 degrees Celsius.
Besides temperature reaching the freezing point, fog threw the normal life out of gear forcing the residents to shiver.
The day temperature recorded by the Meteorological department on Sunday was 10 degrees Celsius which was below normal. The residents felt some relief when the sun god emerged from behind the fog at around 11 am but the temperature again dropped after 4 pm forcing the people to remain indoors.
According to weather expert of Meteorological department SN Sunil Pandey, westerly winds have intensified the cold conditions which will continue for two to three more days. The sky will remain cloudy and dense fog will engulf mornings and nights.
According to the Met office record, the city has witnessed 2 degrees Celsius temperature five times in the 21st century—first time in 2001, then in 2002, 2003, 2013 and 2023. This year January 8 was the coldest day in the history of Kanpur as on that day the temperature had dipped to minus 1.4 degrees while on January 13 and January 22 it was recorded at minus 1 degree.
The passengers are facing difficulties as trains and buses are running late due to dense fog. The roads wore a deserted look on Sunday because there were a lesser number of vehicles except a few temps and e-rickshaws.
Bonfires have been lit at several places where the poor and destitute try to keep themselves warm. Several organizations distributed tea, snacks and khidri among the people sitting around bonfires.
Yatri Jan Kalyan Samiti, an NGO, on Sunday distributed tea, toasts and biscuits at the Jhakarkati inter-state bus terminus. It also distributed blankets among poor passengers.
Parivartan and the Red Cross Society distributed tea and snacks to patients and their family members at the cardiology hospital and KPM Hospital.
The district administration has directed all police stations in the city to send people sleeping in open to shelter homes.