Temperature drops below 10°C in several MP cities:Shahdol man dies of cold; slept on floor at night, found unresponsive in morning

The severe cold wave gripping Madhya Pradesh has claimed a life in Shahdol district, where a 45-year-old balloon seller was found dead on Wednesday morning. Police said the short post-mortem report identified ‘cold’ as the cause of death. Shahdol has recorded a minimum temperature of 6.2°C for the past several days. Man slept on floor, found unresponsive in morning The deceased, Bablu Singh, lived with his two daughters in Katti Mohalla of Ward No. 30. His wife had already passed away. On Tuesday night around 9 PM, Bablu had dinner with his daughters. After putting them to sleep, he spread his bedding on the floor and went to sleep, as he routinely did. Bablu usually woke up at 7 AM. On Wednesday, when he did not wake up even by 8 AM, his daughters attempted to rouse him. When he did not respond, they informed neighbours. Locals tried to shake him awake, but when there was no movement, police were alerted. Suspicion of murder raised due to family dispute Following the incident, family members and locals expressed suspicion over Bablu’s death. They told the police that he had a dispute with his brother-in-law, who had visited from Korba two days earlier. Taking note of these concerns, police called a forensic team to examine the spot. No injury marks were found on the body. Kotwali TI Raghavendra Tiwari said viscera samples are being sent for examination to rule out foul play. A case of accidental death has been registered. Post-mortem cites cold as death cause The preliminary post-mortem report has recorded “cold” as the cause of death. Police said further investigation is underway, and findings from the viscera examination will help clarify remaining doubts. Cold wave intensifies across state Meanwhile, several districts of Madhya Pradesh continued to face a sharp drop in temperature. On Tuesday–Wednesday night, the temperature dipped below 10°C in many cities. Rajgarh remained the coldest at 6.5°C. The mercury also fell again in Bhopal and Indore. The Meteorological Department recorded 7.8°C in Bhopal, 6.9°C in Indore, 10.7°C in Gwalior, 9.5°C in Ujjain and 9.9°C in Jabalpur. Other locations recorded: Pachmarhi 6.6°C, Naugaon 8°C, Shivpuri 9°C, Khargone 9.4°C, Chhindwara and Malajkhand 9.6°C, and Rewa 9.8°C. Several cities remained between 10–13°C. A cold wave alert was issued for Bhopal, Indore, Rajgarh, Jabalpur, Shajapur, Sehore, Dewas, Khandwa, Khargone, Dhar, Barwani, Shivpuri, Niwari, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Satna, Maihar, Shahdol, Katni and Umaria. Pachmarhi recorded 6.4°C earlier; Rajgarh at 5.6°C During Monday–Tuesday night, temperatures had dipped below 10°C in 18 cities. Rajgarh was the coldest at 5.6°C. Pachmarhi recorded 6.4°C. In other cities: Umaria recorded 7.6°C, Naugaon 7.8°C, Shivpuri 8°C, Betul 8.7°C, Dhar 8.8°C, Malajkhand 8.9°C, Khandwa 9.4°C, Chhindwara 9.5°C and Khargone–Mandla 9.6°C. In major cities, Bhopal saw a 3-degree rise after breaking an 84-year November cold record. The temperature, which fell to 5.2°C earlier, rose to 8.2°C. Indore recorded 7.7°C, Gwalior 10.5°C, Ujjain 11°C and Jabalpur 9°C. School timings changed due to cold Due to the ongoing cold wave, school timings have been revised in several districts including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Khandwa, Jhabua, Shahdol and Sagar. Students attended school on Tuesday as per the new schedule. In Jabalpur, from November 19 onward, schools from nursery to Class 5 will not start before 9 AM. Collector Raghavendra Singh issued the order.