Unpredictable weather in India this March has not just made life difficult for farmers, crop insurance companies, state governments and weathermen but has also given jitters to owners of leading beverage and electronic companies.
According to some reports, 2014 is likely to become the fourth consecutive year of poor sales for air conditioners (ACs) and refrigerators due to the erratic weather, unseasonal rains in several parts of the country and fresh price increase of 5-12% on these products due to upgradation of energy rating norms.
Dealers have slowed down purchases of cooling appliances due to changes in the weather in South India. The seasonal demand for cooling appliances in South and West India usually starts in January, which has been down by about 15% this year.
The start of the season has been poor. So, we don't expect a full recovery in sales of cooling appliances," said Kamal Nandi, vice-president, sales and marketing at Godrej Appliances.
“Skymet has reiterated that the change experienced in the weather in India this March is unusual. Parts of South India for example never receive heavy rain in the first week of March. Widespread hailstorms are even more uncommon”, says G.P Sharma of Skymet Meteorological Division. Why it happened this year, is yet to be ascertained”, added the meteorologist.
On the other hand, beverage industries such as PepsiCo India and Coca Cola India whose business largely depend on the weather, have been facing losses due to untimely rain in India, followed by chilly weather. “Weather always affects sales. Therefore over the last few years, we have been working at growing consumption in non-seasonal months," said the spokesperson of PepsiCo India.
Some scientists believe climate change in India is occurring due to development of El Nino in the Pacific Ocean. As a result, bizarre weather conditions could continue till the month of May, with the onset of early monsoon in some cities of India.
Photo by worldaroundmyeyes.
