Rain and snowfall in many areas of the State from last three days has affected normal life in Uttarakhand. Important roads in many districts are blocked due to the rain, snow and the landslide. On Saturday upper reaches of the state experienced fresh snowfall. The tourist spots in Garhwal like Dhanaulti, Chopta, Dugalbitta, Harshil and Auli witnessed medium to heavy snowfall on the day.
In Kumaon region, Nainital, Mukteshwar and Dhanchuli areas also experienced snowfall. Snowfall also continued on Saturday at Badrinath, Hemkund, and valley of flowers, Rudranath and Bedini areas on Saturday. As per the reports more than two dozen roads are blocked in the state while many villages in Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts are cut off due to heavy snowfall.
The weathermen have warned about cold day condition in many parts of the state on Saturday. Warning of thick fog in the plain areas of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts on Sunday and Monday is also given by department of meteorology. In provisional state capital of Dehradun, a maximum temperature of 19.7 degrees Celsius and minimum of 9.4 degrees was recorded on Saturday.
Pantnagar recorded maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and low of 7.5 while New Tehri had a maximum and minimum temperature of 5.6 and 2.0 degrees respectively. In the mountainous Mukteshwar, the maximum temperature recorded a steep fall of 10 degrees in maximum temperature. A maximum of 2.8 degrees and minimum of -0.5 degree Celsius was recorded here.
Cold weather: docs advise caution
The number of patients suffering from cold-related problems has increased with mercury continuing to hit low due to rains and snowfall in Uttarakhand.
The number of children affected by cold condition has also increased and the paediatricians are advising that the parents should ensure that their children remain indoors during morning and night, take fresh nutritious food and drink warm water.
The reason for children being susceptible to infections is due to their low immunity arising out of the fact that they have low fat deposition in their body.
The children tend to catch infections in the school. Doctors suggest that to prevent cold from spreading, the parents should advise their children to wash their hands regularly.
Like children, the elderly too are exposed to variety of problems in winters.
One of the chief tormentors of senior citizens is hypothermia. Due to less body fat the elderly fall prey to hypothermia when they are exposed to cold weather. Doctors are of the view that the senior citizens should keep them hydrated and should wear warm clothes which cover their body properly.