Dense fog, cold wave conditions grip region

Fog continued to engulf the city today as sunrays failed to penetrate the thick cover. Cold wave conditions in the city are making it hard for residents, especially the elderly and children, to go about doing their daily activities. The minimum temperature recorded in Ludhiana today was 9.6°C, while the maximum temperature recorded was 11.8°C.

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According to Punjab Agricultural University’s (PAU) Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, the weather is expected to remain cold with the possibility of cold waves/dense fog during the morning hours in Ludhiana and its adjoining areas during the next 24 hours.

The morning relative humidity recorded today was 97 per cent, while the evening relative humidity was 85 per cent. The day’s length was 10 hours and 14 minutes.

Keeping in view the condition, schools have been asked to adopt an online method of teaching for a week, and medical experts have cautioned children and senior citizens against venturing outside. “It is better to stay inside and avoid going for morning and evening walks due to the intense cold wave conditions,” said an expert.

Experts from the PAU have advised farmers to do crop operations, keeping in view the weather forecast. They have been advised to give light and frequent irrigation to protect crops from the cold conditions. Sugarcane crops should be saved from frost.

Keeping in view the dense fog conditions and the low temperatures, ranging between 7-21°C, farmers have been advised to spray their potato/tomato crops preventively to avoid late blight infection. The symptoms of late blight appear as small, light- to dark-green, circular- to irregular-shaped, water-soaked spots. During cool, moist weather, these lesions expand rapidly into large, dark brown or black lesions, often appearing greasy. A pale green to yellow border often surrounds the lesions. The entire crop may be damaged if not controlled in time. Late blight can shift from infected potato crops to tomatoes.