Jaipur, Dec 15 (IANS) Dense fog blanketed several districts of Rajasthan, including Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, and Alwar, on Monday morning, severely affecting road visibility and traffic movement.

Visibility dropped to just 5 metres in Sri Ganganagar and 20 metres in Alwar, causing major inconvenience for commuters. The impact of the Western Disturbance weakened on Sunday, though light cloud cover persisted across much of the Bikaner, Jodhpur, Ajmer, and Jaipur divisions.

As a result, maximum temperatures declined in several cities, while minimum temperatures rose due to reduced northerly winds. Light clouds were observed in Jaipur, Sikar, Dausa, Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Alwar, Ajmer, and Barmer, with fog lingering in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh until 10-11 am, weakening sunlight.

Maximum temperatures recorded 26 degrees Celsius in Jaisalmer, 29.4 degrees C in Barmer, 30.5 degress C in Jodhpur, 29 degrees C in Bikaner, 28.3 degrees C in Churu, 24.5 degrees C in Sri Ganganagar, 28 degrees C in Udaipur, 28.8 degrees C in Chittorgarh, 26.7 degrees C in Kota, 27 degrees C in Sikar, 27.6 degrees in Pilani, 26.8 degrees in Jaipur and Ajmer, and 25 degrees Celsius in Alwar.

Cloud cover also brought relief from the biting cold at night, particularly in the Shekhawati region, as weakened northerly winds led to a rise in minimum temperatures by up to 3 degrees Celsius over the last two days. On Sunday, minimum temperatures were recorded at 5.9 degrees in Fatehpur, 7.0 degrees Celcius in Sikar, 9.1 degrees C in Pilani, 8.6 degrees C in Churu, 8.1 degrees C in Karauli, 6.5 degrees C in Dausa, 6.0 degrees C in Lunkaransar, 5.9 degrees Celcius in Nagaur, 8.0 degrees in Alwar, 9.6 degrees C in Udaipur, 9.3 degrees C in Chittorgarh, and 7 degrees C in Vanasthali (Tonk) and 9.6 degree celcius in Bhilwara.

According to the Meteorological Centre, minimum temperatures were recorded below 10 degrees Celsius in 18 cities across the state on Sunday.

Weather officials said that dry conditions are likely to continue, and no major change in temperature is expected in the coming days, though cool nights will persist in many areas.

–IANS

arc/skp