Residents of Lucknow woke up to the chilliest morning of the winter season so far, as the city's minimum temperature plummeted to a brisk 7.6 degrees Celsius between Friday and Saturday. This reading marked a significant drop, settling at 2.4 degrees below the normal seasonal average for the Uttar Pradesh capital.
Mercury Takes a Dive Across the State
The sharp cold was not confined to Lucknow alone. Across Uttar Pradesh, night temperatures took a nosedive. Kanpur recorded the lowest at 5 degrees Celsius, followed by Etawah (5.6°C), Muzaffarnagar (5.8°C), with Ayodhya and Barabanki both registering 6 degrees Celsius. In Lucknow, the daytime maximum temperature also remained below par at 24.4 degrees Celsius, which was 1.4 degrees lower than normal.
Senior scientist Mohammad Danish from the meteorological office explained the cause. He attributed the widespread dip to cold, dry westerly and north-westerly winds sweeping into the plains from the neighbouring hill states. "No active weather system is currently influencing the region. The prevailing chilly and dry westerly/north-westerly winds have caused a steady fall in temperature in recent days," Danish stated.
A Temporary Respite Before More Cold
However, a brief period of slight warmth is on the horizon. The weather department predicts that the minimum temperature will rise by a degree or two starting Sunday. This change is due to a fresh western disturbance likely to approach the region. "When western disturbance approaches, temperatures rise, and when it passes by then temperatures drop again," Danish elaborated.
He forecasted a rise in temperatures by about a degree due to this system, followed by another decline once it passes. "A fresh western disturbance is likely to approach Sunday onwards which will lead to a rise in temperatures by a degree or so and when it will pass through the temperatures will again fall from Tuesday," the scientist added. For Sunday, he predicted mist during the morning hours with a mainly clear sky later, with maximum and minimum temperatures around 25 and 9 degrees Celsius respectively.
Fog and Frost in Other Parts
Meanwhile, other parts of Uttar Pradesh are also experiencing typical winter conditions. The meteorological office has forecast dry and shallow to moderate fog at isolated places in the state during the morning hours. This pattern of cold nights and foggy mornings is expected to continue, with the imminent western disturbance offering only a short-lived break from the biting cold before the mercury begins its descent once more from Tuesday.
