Noida shuts schools as cold wave intensifies, IMD issues forecast of dense fog for next 3 days in UP

In view of the cold wave, schools will remain shut in Noida starting from January 3, Manish Kumar Verma, District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar, has announced. Keeping in mind the increasing cold and dense fog, an order has been issued to close all schools from nursery to class 8 in the district. 

The order will apply to schools of UP Board, CBSE, and all other boards. The decision has been taken to protect children from cold waves and winds. Verma said in the order that this decision has been taken giving priority to the safety and health of the students. 

The cold wave has intensified in Uttar Pradesh, along with other states such as Delhi, Haryana and Punjab due to winds from North India. This extreme cold has made daily life challenging, with people largely staying indoors.  

The Meteorological Department has forecasted dense fog for the next three days in many parts of the state, and there is a possibility of the minimum temperature dropping to 6 degrees Celsius in the coming days.  

Delhi shivers as temperatures fall 

A thick layer of fog enveloped the national capital and several major cities across the country as the cold wave conditions continues to prevail with the start of the New Year. 

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), visibility at airport in Delhi on January 2 was recorded at zero meters. Similar conditions were reported in Gwalior, Agra, Amritsar and Pathankot, as a dense layer of fog continued to impact major regions across the country. 

The air quality index recorded in the national capital at 8 am today was 278, categorised as ‘poor’, according to the data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. 

The IMD also reported the presence of fog and low clouds over northwest, central, east and northeast India with patches of it over coastal Andhra Pradesh on January 2.