Northern India in winter's grip: Some do's and don'ts for travellers
New Delhi: This is the time of the year northern India shivers in cold as winter peaks, adding to the woes of
travellers, rail or air. Trains and flights are cancelled due to poor visibility due to fog that envelops open areas the rail tracks run through or the airports like Delhi IGIA where many a time even CAT-compliant aircraft are unable
to take off as Runway Visibility Range (RVR) falls below the permissible 125 metres, mainly during overnight and
early mornings, except when it rains or a strong wind blows away the haze. The weather is also unwelcome to the
poorer of the population in the region as they mostly lack the wherewithals to fight the extreme cold, the chill that
kills more people during December-January, than the scroching heat of the summer months, according to official
data. On Sunday last, the night temperature dropped below 3 degrees C. The health authorities have issued
guidelines of do's and dont's alerting people against the dangers inherent in exposing oneself to extreme cold and
also about other precautions one has to take, especially unsespecting travellers unfamiliar with the weather
conditions of places they are wanting to visit in the region:
Eat healthy food to generate sufficient energy to fight the cold;
Drink non-alcoholic beverages to avoid dehydration;
Wear layers of warm clothes instead of a single heavy one;
Keep oneself dry;
Ensure proper ventillation when using heating arrangements;
Cover head and mouth especially while wandering around - protection to mouth and nose is protection to lungs;
Avoid too much exertion in extreme cold - it can lead to cardiac problems;
Extremities like toes turn pale and there will be loss of feeling when there is frostbite;
Be aware of hypothermia (subnormal body temperature) - the symptoms are: memory loss, shivering,
disorientaion, slurred speech, drowsiness, exhaustion
