Farmers Movement Archive

Light showers, morning fog add to chill

Amritsar, December 27 The absence of sunlight throughout the day and intermittent showers in the evening caused a sudden drop in the daytime temperature on Sunday. Heavy fog was witnessed in the urban and rural areas until noon when it started drizzling. With weather forecasts predicting frost in the coming days, the daytime temperature, especially during early morning hours, is expected to fall further. The fog and showers affected the life in general as markets and roads were nearly empty. With the visibility extending only to a few metres, the commuters too faced a trouble on roads as drivers had to drive slowly and cautiously. The fog cover in the rural areas was dense in comparison to city areas. The movement of vehicles in rural areas remained negligible throughout the day. “Despite it being a public holiday, people preferred to stay at home and did not visit markets. It was a slow day for business,” said Harsimran Singh, a cloth seller. The hosiery sellers are, however, claiming that sales are good this season due to intense cold. The shopkeepers also stated that the demand for room heaters and geysers has registered an increase in the last one week. “We have not seen the sunlight for the last two days. It is intense cold outside and except for bringing fodder for animals all other works have been postponed,” said a farmer Major Singh from Chabal. He added that vegetable crops would be adversely hit with the frost in the coming days and the production would fall. While the chill in the air has increased, the agriculture experts stated that the showers are good for crops especially wheat as it would decrease the need for applying irrigation and help in tillering. They stated that farmers should apply a light irrigation to fodder crops during the early morning hours to decrease the effect of frost on them.

The Tribune

2020-12-28