Green cover helps fight weather vagaries

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 7

Thanks to the 42 per cent green cover in the city, foggy conditions prevailing in parts of Punjab and Haryana have not enveloped it.

According to Surinder Paul, Director, Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh, incidents of stubble burning were also less in the vicinity of the tricity as compared with neighbouring states.

He said heavy fog was witnessed in the areas with less tree cover and where fields were set on fire. He added that rapid urbanisation in Punjab was a major factor behind fog. “The green cover is very important for maintaining the ecosystem. We have witnessed fog in the area that is sans tree cover and where the fields were set on fire,” said Surinder Paul.

He said foggy conditions will persist in parts of Punjab and Haryana for over 48 hours, said Paul.

According to the weatherman, with a clear sky, the earth surface cools down rapidly and the air near the ground gets condensed, leading to the formation of fog. However, this phenomenon did not occur in Chandigarh.

Commuters travelling on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh highway and the Fatehgarh-Chandigarh highway again had a nightmarish experience. Commuters travelling on the Chandigarh- Ludhiana highway were at the receiving end. The highway has been dug up at many places for the construction of an expressway. Commuters were finding it difficult to drive. There has been no report of any major accident.