Fog envelops North India, hits life
From Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

BALACHAUR, Dec 17 — It was fog all the way. State and national highways were virtually deserted as this winter's first weather vagary was here.

With visibility considerably reduced and temperature having come down considerably, in the mornings and evenings, life literally remains at a standstill in the plains of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh from 6 in the evening till 11 in the morning.

A Tribune team that toured parts of Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur districts this morning hardly witnessed any activity anywhere except for a few buses moving at a lower speed with headlights on.

Fortunately, The Tribune team did not witness any accident due to fog anywhere but the caution with which vehicle owners plied vehicles during fog hours was understandable. Fog normally clears up by 11 a.m. or 11.30 a.m. depending upon the area. In the evening, the plains, especially the open areas, irrigated fields, water bodies and unpopulated areas again get enveloped by a thick fog.

Schools in rural Punjab do not open till 9.30 a.m. during fog months. Even their revised time-table does not guarantee normal attendance. At times, teachers and students are unable to reach institutions till fog starts clearing up.

The Tribune team did not find any farm operations anywhere during fog hours. Even the "indigenous gur factories on road side" in the sugarcane belt also do not function from 6 p.m. till 11 a.m.

Roadside vehicle repair shops, dhabas, and even government offices along the state and national highways virtually remain without any activity till Sun starts coming out late in the forenoon or early afternoon.

Frequency of bus service, too, is reduced, both in mornings and evenings. Even the number of private vehicles is far below the normal on roads during fog hours. A couple of days ago, a Tribune team witnessed a spate of accidents between Ludhiana and Chandigarh, including a serious head-on-collision between a Punjab Roadways bus and a Tata 407 truck near Mundi Kharar. Near Ludhiana Octroi checkpost on the National Highway no 1, a Matador was sandwiched between two trucks. A Maruti was badly smashed near Samrala. All these accidents took place because of poor visibility due to thick fog.

Fog, farmers point out, also hamper farm operations as harvesting of fruit and crop cannot be undertaken in reduced visibility. The farmers agree that problem is aggravated as and when they irrigate fields.

Weather experts point out that low temperatures, calm air, presence of high moisture are major factors responsible for the fog. They say that problem persists throughout the winter.

The experts find no relation between rain and fog except for the clouds which at times can reduce the menace of fog.

So far it has been a dry winter in the plains. Against a normal rainfall of 8.3 mm till December 17, the city has not recorded even a drop of rain this month making it one of the driest Decembers in recent years. The day and night temperatures have been far below normal temperatures of 7 degrees Celsius and 22 degrees Celsius, respectively.