This story is from February 9, 2012

Severe cold wave sweeps Gujarat

Gujarat shivered as a severe cold wave swept through the state on Wednesday.Temperatures dipped dramatically and almost all areas excluding the three coastal places recorded minimum temperatures below 10 degrees.
Severe cold wave sweeps Gujarat
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat shivered as a severe cold wave swept through the state on Wednesday. Temperatures dipped dramatically and almost all areas excluding the three coastal places recorded minimum temperatures below 10 degrees. Ahmedabad recorded 9.4 degrees while Naliya was the coldest at 0.8 degrees.
Weather officials said that temperatures will remain low or dip lower on Thursday.
After Friday, the temperatures will rise sharply and recover to normal.
Intense cold wave threw normal life out of gear in Saurashtra and Kutch regions. Mercury in Naliya, Kutch, fell 9 degrees below normal.
Earlier, Naliya had recorded the lowest minimum temperature in the state at 4 degrees Celsius on January 29. According to police, two beggars, one in Rajkot and the other in Junagadh died due to cold.
Mercury plummeted sharply at most places and chilly winds forced people to remain indoors in the region. P 5"In most cities and towns, temperatures were recorded six to seven degrees below normal signifying a severe cold wave," director of India Meteorology Department (Gujarat) Kamaljit Ray said. "This is the first severe cold wave to sweep the entire state this season. Earlier, only Kutch has witnessed two days of intense cold wave The intense cold wave is due to extremely dry northerly winds blowing over the state following the passing of the Western Disturbance."

In Ahmedabad, the night temperature was recorded at 9.4 degrees. Doctors said that consistently cold weather this winter season has led to 30-40 per cent rise in acute heart attacks. "Acute heart attacks due to blockages have risen by 30-40 per cent in the past months. Extreme dips are more alarming. We have seen three acute myocardial infarctions in less than 24 hours since Tuesday night which is unusually high," said cardiologist Dr Sameer Dani.
BOX
Freeze points
PlaceMin Temperature (degrees Celsius)
Naliya0.8
Kandla Airport4.4
Mahuva4.9
Amreli5.4
Deesa5.8
Gandhinagar6.2
Rajkot6.3
Ahmedabad9.4
Vadodara10.1
Surat10.7
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA