Chilly winds bring mercury down in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, Jan 7 (UNI) The temperature in Bhuj dipped to 10.6 degrees Celsius today due to north-westerly winds blowing at a speed of 7 to 8 km per hour, bringing in a sharp fall in mercury.

Naliya in Kutch district continued to shiver, though the temperatures rose marginally to 3.8 degrees Celsius at 0830 hrs today as compared to 2.6 degrees yesterday, the lowest recorded temperature in the state since the past three years.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in parts of Kutch, Saurashtra, Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, a weather office spokesperson said here.

Reports from Kutch said that border villages like Rapar, Bachau and Bhuj also experienced cold weather conditions, though there is no weather office to record the actual temperature. It could be far colder than Naliya, he said.

Border Security Force (BSF) jawans at the desert outposts in Great Rann of Kutch (north Kutch) too complained of bitter weather.

Fishermen were also affected due to the chilly winds blowing from across the Arabian Sea. Jamnagar, Amreli and Junagadh all witnessed fall in temperatures, which were recorded at 8 degrees Celsius yesterday.

However, there was a slight rise in temperatures in Saurashtra and Kutch today due to increase in moisture content. The low temperature is nevertheless set to prevail in parts of Kutch, Central Gujarat and Saurashtra during the next 24 hours, as the chilly winds, blowing in the region for the past two days, could continue, the spokesman added.

The cold wave has affected not just the humans but cattle too, particularly cows, buffaloes and sheep, drastically reducing the milk production, thereby affecting distribution.

Meanwhile Ahmedabad, reeling under the cold wave condition for the last two days, today saw a slight rise in temperature at 12.3 degrees Celsius as compared to 11 degrees yesterday.

The extreme cold has claimed the life of one beggar, identified as Chagganbhai Patel, at Gandhidham yesterday.

UNI