Shillong shivers at 3.7 degree Celsius as severe cold sweeps northeast states; dense fog warning for today

GUWAHATI: Teeth-chattering cold swept the northeast in the last 24 hours with a fall in temperature, especially in the day time across the region. People lit bonfires early in the morning to keep themselves warm. Weather officials said there is unlikely to be any respite from the severe cold till December 30. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning of dense fog over all the seven northeastern states on Thursday.


The lowest minimum temperature in the northeast for the day was recorded in Shillong (3.7 degree Celsius), a depreciation of two degree Celsius below the normal range, the IMD said. In the Nagaland capital Kohima, the mercury plummeted to as low as 5 degree Celsius. Aizawl (8.4), Itanagar (6.4), Imphal (6.9) and Dibrugarh (9.6) all recorded minimum temperatures of less than 10 degree Celsius.

The IMD bulletin on Wednesday evening stated that the highest departure from the normal for the day was recorded in the upper Assam towns of Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur, where the drop in temperature was 5.8 degree Celsius below normal. Dibrugarh and North Lakhimpur recorded the maximum temperature of 17.4 and 17.6 degree Celsius respectively on Wednesday. All state capitals and major towns in the northeast recorded a drop in the maximum temperature between 4 and 7 degree Celsius below normal. The maximum temperature is measured during noon time.

"The minimum temperature has dropped in several parts of the northeast mainly because the sky has cleared. The hailstorm and rain have stopped now after two days. There is a possibility of the temperature going down further if the sky remains clear," a senior official of the IMD told TOI on Wednesday.

IMD officials said light to moderate rain occurred at many places over Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram and at a few places over Assam and Tripura resulting in further drop in temperatures. Light rain occurred at isolated places in Meghalaya in the last 24 hours.

Fog hits flight services in Guwahati
Due to low visibility because of fog in Guwahati, there was a delay in departure of eight flights from the LGBI Airport here in the last 24 hours, said chief airport officer Utpal Baruah. He said a maximum delay of four hours was reported. There was little impact in road transport and railways though. "Most train delays are in north India but by the time they reach the northeast the delays are made up. On an average 15 to 20 minutes delay in NE-bound trains have been reported today," said NF Railway CPRO Sabyasachi De. Visibility recorded over Agartala was 50 meters which was the lowest in the NE on Wednesday.


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