Title - Seven-year record sends city hazy to haywire

After rain, dense fog troubled Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas, disrupting train and bus schedules on Monday.Weathermen at Sonari aerodrome recorded a seven-year low visibility of 200 metres at 8am. They said a blanket of fog descended on the city soon after sunrise at 6.15am and cleared only after 8.15am.This was the second time in February that life went hazy to haywire. On February 10, visibility in the city and adjoining areas had been reduced to 350 metres.On Monday, places like Adityapur in Seraikela-Kharsawan district and Chaibasa in West Singhbhum, saw their visibility reduced to a poor 300 metres.Climate experts held the western disturbance, which had resulted in rainfall for three consecutive days till Sunday, responsible for this record-making and blinding fog."Such heavy fog is caused by ample moisture in the atmosphere and the effect of solar radiation on it," explained T.N. Jha, a senior weather analyst at the Patna Meteorological Office.The sun tore through the haze around 9am and visibility in Jamshedpur increased to 1,500 metres. By 10am, it was almost normal at 2,500 metres.
The foggy morning, however, took a toll on long-distance buses and trains. Headlights became a must for vehicles on highways and thoroughfares.
Sources at Jamshedpur Bus Owners' Association said buses assigned different destinations in Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh began their journeys late.
"The fog was very dense and we thought it wise to wait for a while. My bus was to leave Sitaramdera terminus for Patna at 6.30am. We delayed it by an hour and a half," said Kripa Shankar Singh, a member of the association.
He added that most other buses, scheduled to begin journey early, were delayed. Similarly, buses from other destinations reached Sitaramdera late.
Railway officials at Tatanagar station said movement of several trains, including Howrah-bound Steel Superfast Express and Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Superfast Express, was affected on Monday. The latter reached Tatanagar around 7.25am, an hour behind schedule.