UPSCpedia: Geograpedia - Cold wave

• Cold wave is a rapid fall in temperature within a 24 hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities.
• It is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air.
• This minimum temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year
• Exposure to cold mandates greater caloric intake for all animals, including humans, and if a cold wave is accompanied by heavy and persistent snow, grazing animals may be unable to reach needed food and die of hypothermia or starvation.
  
• Demand for electrical power and fuels rises dramatically during such times, even though the generation of electrical power may fail due to the freezing of water necessary for the generation of hydroelectricity.
• Fires become even more of a hazard during extreme cold. The air during a cold wave is typically denser and any cold air that a fire draws in is likely to cause a more intense fire because the colder, denser air contains more oxygen.