Patna: Bihar has been reeling under an intense cold wave for the past one week, with icy winds sharply increasing chill across the state. In view of the severe cold conditions, district administrations have ordered the closure of schools in several districts. On Tuesday, Munger recorded the lowest temperature in Bihar at 7 degrees Celsius.
Dense fog disrupted air traffic, leading to the cancellation of four flights, while around 20 pairs of flights were delayed due to poor visibility.
According to the Meteorological Centre, temperatures in four districts fell below 10 degrees Celsius, while eight districts recorded temperatures under 11 degrees Celsius. Weather conditions are expected to remain similar for the next five days.
The Met department stated that 25 districts are likely to remain under the grip of cold day conditions and dense fog on Wednesday. An orange alert for cold day and dense fog has been issued for 12 districts, while a yellow alert for fog is in place for 13 districts. Dense fog and cold wave conditions may persist in Bihar till December 28.
Gaya colder than usual, matches Manali temperatures
On Monday, Gaya recorded a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, comparable to that of Manali. On Tuesday morning, dense fog enveloped Patna, Jehanabad, Bhagalpur, Jamui, Darbhanga, Khagaria, Buxar and nearly 20 other districts, reducing visibility to less than 10 metres in several areas.
Schools shut across multiple districts
Due to the cold wave, all schools in Patna and Buxar have been closed till December 26. In Jehanabad, schools from Class 1 to Class 8 will remain shut till December 27. Authorities in Banka have ordered school closures till December 31, while schools in Lakhisarai will remain closed till January 4. In Kishanganj, school timings have been revised, with classes now scheduled from 10 am to 3 pm.
Cold-related incidents reported
In a tragic incident in Katayi Bojh village under Tiara police station limits in Bhojpur district, a nine-month pregnant woman sustained severe burn injuries while warming herself near a fire inside her house on Tuesday. She was initially admitted to Ara Sadar Hospital and later referred to Patna for advanced treatment.
In another incident in Saran district, a student was killed after a motorcycle collided with a cement-laden truck amid dense fog. Meanwhile, in Ara, a tractor collided with a passenger train. The impact was so severe that the tractor was dragged nearly 500 metres and got lodged in the engine. No major casualties were reported in the incident.
Fog likely to continue for next 4–5 days
The weather department has warned that moderate to dense fog may continue at isolated places across the state over the next four to five days, especially during morning hours, with extremely low visibility expected.
Maximum temperatures in many parts of Bihar may rise by 1 to 4 degrees Celsius over the next two to three days. However, this marginal increase is unlikely to provide significant relief as minimum temperatures are expected to remain largely unchanged.
Western jet stream intensifying cold conditions
Meteorologists attribute the prevailing cold conditions to an active western jet stream located at an altitude of around 12.6 kilometres above sea level, with wind speeds estimated at nearly 140 knots. This has intensified the flow of cold winds across north India, including Bihar, and the situation is expected to persist for the time being.
Local weather updates
In Samastipur, the maximum temperature recorded in the last 24 hours was 14.6 degrees Celsius, about 7.5 degrees below normal, while the minimum stood at 8.7 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees below average.
Begusarai recorded a minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature expected to hover around 19 degrees Celsius.
