Air, Train Services Hit As Cold Wave Engulfs The Northeast

GUWAHATI :  Transport services-- mainly air and train travel--were hit hard as a cold wave engulfed the Northeast states. Eight flights got delayed from the LGBI Airport, on Wednesday due to low visibility. Utpal Baruah, the chief airport officer informed that, dense fog surrounded the entire city of Guwahati, as a result of which flights got delayed by four hours. 

However, the impact of the foggy conditions was comparatively less on the roads and railways. The Northeast bound trains were delayed by an average of 20 mins on Wednesday, as per railway officials. In Agartala visibility rate was 50 meters, which is the lowest recorded in NE on Wednesday.

Northeast shivered in severe cold with a fall in temperature in the past 24 hours. People sat beside bonfires to keep themselves warm, mostly during the day. 

As per weather officials, the conditions would remain same till the end of this year. On Thursday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) announced about severe cold and dense fog in all the northeast states. 

Shillong witnessed the lowest minimum temperature of 3.7 degree celsius on Wednesday. According to IMD, the temperature lowered below the normal range. In Nagaland the temperature record was 5 degree celsius while Aizawl had 8.4, Itanagar 6.4, Imphal 6.9 and Dibrugarh 9.6. 

All these regions recorded a temperature less than 10 degree celsius, sweeping people off with the teeth chattering cold. A fall in temperature was seen in the Upper Assam region, especially in Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur. 

The temperature went down by 5.8 degree celsius below the normal average temperature. The maximums temperature in both these towns were recorded as 17.4 and 17.6 degree celsius on Wednesday. The entire northeast region experienced a drop in the maximum temperature between 4 and 7 degree below normal. 

The prime cause behind this is because of the clear sky condition. According to IMD, the temperature will continue to drop if the sky remains clear in the coming days. The information is released through the IMD bulletin. 

On top of the shivering cold, light to moderate rain was seen in several northeast states such as , Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. Assam and Tripura was also in the list resulting in drop in temperature. In the past 24 hours, few parts of Meghalaya experienced light rain.

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