PATNA: Patna and most other areas in Bihar are witnessing a comparatively warmer winter season . Usually, four to five cold wave spells are observed in the state between mid-December and January, but none this time.Besides, cold day conditions were witnessed nowhere in the state throughout the winter season which began in October. In meteorological parlance, cold day condition is declared when the minimum temperature touches 10 degrees Celsius or low and there is a departure of 4.5-6.4 degrees C in maximum temperature.Met officials claimed that Patna witnessed foggy conditions only on a couple of days even as the crisp weather has entered its last lap. Although the morning minimum in the city has been witnessing a southward movement over the past couple of days and was recorded at 7.2 degrees C on Tuesday, the Patna Meteorological Centre has predicted it to go above the 10-degree mark by next Tuesday.Maximum temperature has also been recorded comparatively higher as it never plunged below the 20-degree mark this winter season.Meteorologists attributed the warmer winter to higher sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean , also known as the El Niño weather phenomenon, as well as local weather factors.“El Nino conditions led to minimum as well as maximum temperatures in the Gangetic plains, including Bihar, to remain one or two notches above the respective normal. This was worsened by fewer western disturbances, which also passed only through the foothills of the Himalayas in north Bihar,” said a Patna Meteorological Centre official.Western disturbances are low-pressure areas or extra-tropical storms originating from the Mediterranean Sea , Red Sea and Caspian Sea which cause rainfall or snow in the northwest Indian subcontinent, especially in the winter season.“Normally, 8-12 western disturbances hit Bihar during the winter season, but this time only two-three such weather systems affected the state. Western disturbances bring clouds and rains in the winter season which lead to cold day conditions. However, most winter disturbances passed from the upper latitudes, giving central and southern Bihar a miss,” the Met official said.Another important factor, which causes plunge in the mercury in the crisp weather, are the dry and cold northwesterly and westerly winds blowing in the region from the snowfall-laden Himalayan peaks in Jammu and Kashmir and neighbouring regions.“Although westerly winds blew in the region, their intensity was not that high which could have led to sharp plunge in the mercury column,” the official said.Experts also claimed that the warmer winter must have led to adverse impact on winter crops.“There was no winter rain this time in Bihar and majority of the areas in the Gangetic plain. This must have adversely affected the winter crops. This was basically due to absence of western disturbance. The required level of temperature was also not available for the winter crops, which must have affected their growth,” said Pradhan Parth Sarthi, secretary at the Patna chapter of Indian Meteorological Society.

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