Early winter fog is back and so are harrowing times for early morning commuters.

The Met department on Sunday issued an alert of shallow to moderate fog in Jharkhand, especially in areas located in higher altitudes, for the next two to three days.

Several places in Chhotanagpur plateau region, Palamau and Santhal Pargana would see shallow to moderate fog that would reduce surface visibility in early mornings.

“At some places, visibility is likely to fall below a stretch of 1,000 metres,” said a duty officer at the Ranchi Meteorological Centre.

He explained that the fog would be the result of high humidity coupled with low temperature.

“This is a transitional phase (in the weather) and fogs will occur frequently, especially in places which are located on higher altitudes,” the duty officer explained.

On Sunday, early morning fog was witnessed in Jamshedpur and other parts of Kolhan, Daltonganj, Simdega and Khunti. State capital Ranchi witnessed shallow fog soon after sunrise.

Director of the Ranchi Met Centre S.D. Kotal said dry weather conditions would prevail in Jharkhand for the next few days. “We did not find any significant synoptic features in today’s (Sunday’s) satellite and chart analysis. Weather conditions will be dry and fair with night readings hovering around two notches below normal in the next two to three days,” he said.

With November inching towards the finish line, the nip is definitely in the air.

Statistics revealed that Ranchi on Sunday recorded a minimum temperature of 12.6°C while Kanke on the outskirts of the state capital clocked 10.8°C.

Daltonganj and Bokaro recorded over 13°C while most districts in Santhal Pargana, including Dumka, recorded night readings of around 14°C. The local IMD centre in Jamshedpur on Sunday recorded minimum reading of 16°C.