Hyderabad: Four accidents involving 12 vehicles occurred due to poor visibility on a one-km stretch on the Kothur-Nandigama bypass road on National Highway 44.
The accidents occurred in a one-hour period when the fog was at its thickest on Saturday, and left two persons injured.
Shadnagar sub-inspector Narasimha Reddy said the accidents took place between 6 am and 7 am when vehicles rammed into the ones in front of them.
He said that in the first accident a bus ran into autorickshaw and two other vehicles rammed into the bus.
“Traffic was halted and the other accidents took place in three separate places,” the officials aid.
Most of the people were travelling to their hometowns to celebrate Sankranti. The fog lasted till about 9 am, slowing down traffic. Some motorists stopped by the roadsides as they were unable to see the road ahead.
Vehicles equipped with fog lamps could make their way but drivers of vehicles that did not have the yellow lights crawled along or stopped altogether.
“We appeal to those heading to their native places to travel after 8 am. The IMD has said that the fog conditions will continue for four to five days. It is better to avoid travelling at night or early in the morning,” said Cyberabad police commissioner V. Sajjanar.
Fog, mist likely for both Telugu states
Fog or mist is very likely to prevail in Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, the Indian Meterological Department said.
A fog alert is declared when the horizontal visibility becomes less than 1 km. This will affect traffic movement on the highways during the Sankranti holiday season.
According to a weather expert, the thick fog on Saturday was caused by the sudden change of winds. The colder northeasterly winds were being replaced by warmer winds from the Bay of Bengal. With reduced temparatures and increased humidity, moisture in the air condensed and turned into fog.
The condition is likely to prevail over the next 24 hours. An IMD official said the intensity of fog might reduce with the winds getting settled.
