VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh is likely to experience colder days than normal for the next one week. According to the forecast of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), temperatures across the State are likely to fall 2 to 4 degrees Celsius below normal in the next one week.
Speaking to TNIE, IMD Amaravati officials said that the State has not experienced any cold wave conditions, though temperature variation is near that mark. On Saturday, the highest variation in the minimum temperatures — 4.1 degrees Celsius — was recorded at Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district. As per the yardstick adopted by the IMD, if temperatures at a place in the coastal area fall 4.5 degrees Celsius below normal, it can be considered a cold wave. For interior areas, it is 4 degrees Celsius.
“The dip in minimum temperatures in the State is due to the influence of cold and dry winds from the North. When the high-pressure system moves towards an area, a decrease in minimum temperatures is observed. The high-pressure system formed in Northern parts of the country is yet to move towards south, but effects are being observed,” a meteorologist with IMD Amaravati explained.
He said winter normally arrives in the State in the first week of January. The last one week to 10 days of December are considered as the transition period between North East Monsoon and winter.
According to the IMD, the lowest temperature of 13.4 degrees Celsius was recorded in Jangamaheswarapuram in Guntur district followed by 13.5 degrees Celsius in Kalingapatnam of Srikakulam district in the 24 hours till 8:30 am on Saturday. However, the Andhra Pradesh Realtime Weather Dashboard hosted by the State’s Planning Department, which takes reading from more than 100 different locations, said G Madugula in Visakhapatnam reported the lowest temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius, followed by 4.7 degrees Celsius at Munching Puttu and 5.6 degree Celsius at Araku in Visakhapatnam.
Between 8:30 am and 7 pm on Saturday, Hukumpeta in Visakhapatnam district recorded the lowest temperature of 8.62 degrees Celsius, followed by 9.55 degrees Celsius at Peddabayalu in the same district. People of the Agency region in Visakhapatnam are experiencing very cold days.