Bhopal: The Met department has issued three orange alerts warning of cold to severe cold waves and cold days in Madhya Pradesh where minimum temperatures dipped in the last three days due to chilly wind from north India.
One of the three orange alerts issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warns of the ground frost accumulation.
The first alert predicted a likely severe cold wave at isolated places and a cold wave at many places in the ten divisions of MP- Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Chambal, Ujjain, Rewa, Shahdol, Hoshangabad and Sagar, in the next two days.
In the second alert, IMD said that 17 districts, including Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Satna and Mandla, are likely to witness either a "severe cold day" or a "cold day" in the next two days.
The Met department has also warned of the accumulation of ground frost in 16 districts including Bhopal, Gwalior, Raisen, Bhind, Shivpuri and Datia in the next 24 hours.
According to a PK Saha, senior meteorologist with IMD at Bhopal, severe cold wave conditions prevailed in Bhopal, Gwalior, Sagar, Umaria, Raisen and at Khajuraho and Nowgong in Chhatarpur district in the last 24 hours.
Besides, 17 districts in MP, including Indore, Jabalpur, Satna and Mandla remained in the grip of the cold wave in the last 24 hours, he said.
The senior meteorologist said that five districts, namely Indore, Seoni, Betul, Dhar and Ujjain, experienced a severely cold day on Monday while 13 districts including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Satna and Sidhi saw cold days.
As per the IMD, a day is defined as a "severe cold" when the normal maximum temperature drops by 6.5 degrees Celsius or below.
A 'cold day' is one when the minimum temperature drops to 10 degrees Celsius or below and the normal maximum temperature dips by 4.5 degrees Celsius or below, Saha explained.
The lowest minimum temperature of one degree Celsius in MP was recorded at Umaria and Nowgong in the Chhatarpur district.
Pachmarhi, a famous hill station, saw the minimum temperature of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, Saha said.
The MP capital shivered with a minimum temperature of 3.4 degrees Celsius, 8 degrees less than normal. The maximum temperature of Bhopal was 24.1 degrees Celsius, 2 degrees below normal.
The maximum and minimum temperatures of three districts, namely Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior were recorded as 23.3 degrees Celsius (4 degrees below normal) and 6.5 (5 degrees below normal), 22.2 (4 degrees below normal) and 4.8 (6 degrees below normal) and 23 degree Celsius (2 degrees below normal) and 1.8 degree Celsius (six degrees below normal), respectively.
Senior meteorologist Saha said cold winds were blowing in MP from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand which have experienced snowfall.
He said that the chill in MP is likely to abate after two days.
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