Kolkata, 17 January (H.S.) :

Cold weather conditions have intensified once again across Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal. The Meteorological Department has issued a warning for dense fog in most parts of the state, raising concerns over reduced visibility and possible disruption to daily life.

In North Bengal, districts including Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda are likely to experience dense fog, with visibility expected to drop to between 199 metres and as low as 50 metres.

Several districts of South Bengal are also under a dense fog alert during the morning hours. Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Nadia, Birbhum and Murshidabad may witness visibility reducing to around 50 metres, which could affect road and rail traffic.

According to the weather office, temperatures across the state are expected to rise gradually. There is unlikely to be any significant change in minimum temperatures across North and South Bengal over the next three days. However, a rise of two to three degrees Celsius is likely during the subsequent three-day period.

On Friday, Darjeeling recorded a minimum temperature of four degrees Celsius, the lowest in the state. Meanwhile, Birbhum’s Sriniketan emerged as the second coldest location, surpassing several North Bengal towns, with the minimum temperature dipping to 7.6 degrees Celsius.

Other locations recorded low temperatures as well, with Kalyani at 8.4 degrees Celsius, Jhargram at 8.8 degrees, Bankura at 8.6 degrees, Asansol at 9.8 degrees, Kalaikunda at 9.6 degrees, Midnapore at 9.1 degrees and Uluberia at 9.6 degrees Celsius.

Minimum temperatures were also reported at 10.1 degrees Celsius in Digha, 10 degrees in Canning and Baharampur, 10.3 degrees in Panagarh, 10 degrees in Purulia and Barrackpore, and 10.2 degrees in Siuri. In Kalimpong, the temperature did not fall below 8.5 degrees Celsius.

The Meteorological Department has advised people to remain cautious during early morning and night hours and to exercise extra care while commuting amid dense fog conditions.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh