Rain with snowfall in higher reaches and rainfall in the plains of Uttarakhand on Wednesday brought the temperature down and compelled residents, especially senior citizens, to remain indoors.
However, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said that rain with snowfall in higher reaches and rainfall in the plains in recent days have brought cheer to farmers in the region as snowfall and rain this month is considered good for wheat and apple, apart from boosting tourism.
Regarding blockage of roads due to the inclement weather, Bahuguna said that District Magistrates have been directed to take appropriate steps to address problems being faced by the public. State Meteorological Centre Director Anand Sharma said the weather is expected to remain clear from Thursday in Uttarakhand while fog/mist are forecast at isolated places in plains especially in Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar districts. Cloudy conditions coupled with light rain showers badly hit normal life in different parts of the State. Sharma attributed this to western disturbances and induced cyclonic circulation over Haryana and neighbouring districts.
Sharma said that the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 15.3°C and 7.4°C respectively in Dehradun on Wednesday. The weather forecast for Dehradun on Thursday is mainly clear sky becoming cloudy towards evening. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 19°C and 5°C respectively on Thursday in Dehradun. The weather forecast for Uttarakhand is mainly dry weather.
Dehradun District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam announced that due to the cold weather the opening timings of all public schools and anganwadi offices would be changed to 9am till February 15.
Purushottam also instructed the Chief Education Officer to ensure that the new schedule is being implemented in the schools. The opening time for all the Government schools has been changed to 9.45am.