Ranchi: The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'yellow' alert on Wednesday for dense fog in many parts of Jharkhand over the next two days. A yellow (be aware) alert for dense fog has been issued for Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra, Hazaribag, Koderma, West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, and Saraikela-Kharsawan districts, according to an IMD bulletin.
Gumla was the coldest place in the state at 3.9 degrees Celsius. Dense fog conditions are likely to prevail in the aforementioned districts, including Giridih and Deoghar on January 2 until 8:30 am, it said. The minimum temperature in Ranchi was 7 degrees Celsius. Visibility in these districts is likely to reduce to between 50 and 200 meters, the IMD bulletin said. Ranchi Meteorological Centre Deputy Director Abhishek Anand said, "North-westerly to westerly winds prevailing in the lower tropospheric levels over Jharkhand are causing the cold wave and dense fog conditions." In the past 24 hours, Lohardaga and Daltonganj each recorded 5.1 degrees Celsius, Khunti recorded 5.2, while the mercury level dropped to 6.1 degrees Celsius in Bokaro Thermal, according to the IMD bulletin.