“No tour of India is complete without seeing Udaipur” – Rudyard Kipling.

Udaipur and the weather of Udaipur is the most loved in the desert state Rajasthan. They say winter weather is the best time to visit any place in north India but the weather has its unique charm that attracts thousands of foreign tourists towards it. Be it a trip to the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ or a romantic lunch at the ‘Lake Palace’, the weather of Udaipur in the winters and the ostentatious luxury it offers, makes each experience a memorable one.

Cupped by the lofty ranges of the Aravallis, charming placid lakes and majestic palaces, combined with the perfect weather of Udaipur, has been earned the city many titles, such as ‘Venice of the East’, the ‘City of Lakes’, the ‘City of Sunrise’ and the ‘City of Historicity’.

Have we already tempted you a bit? Well hear this and be tempted enough to visit this city of majestic beauty over the weekend!

Weather forecasters at Skymet tell us that the weather of Udaipur will be extremely pleasant, quite perfect for a visit during the weekend. The day temperature could be between 23⁰C to 24⁰C and the sun will be bright. If you have a lake view room, you can see light mist or haze in the morning which will disappear at 8 am. However, the morning temperature which is maintaining above normal levels by 3⁰C could soon be cooler and be around 8⁰C. Thus mornings will be cooler if not very cold. The day could be breezy with light winds blowing all day and the skies will be cloudy.

Though the light rain in Udaipur on Feb 5th has already started attracting tourists from all over, as the lake now looks more beautiful, the neither too hot or too cold weather of Udaipur will make it paradisaical.

No, we’re not pushing it relentlessly, but we highly recommend and suggest traveling to Udaipur for the weather of Udaipur could soon turn hot as the temperatures are expected to rise by 6⁰C in the next one week. Weathermen at Skymet explain the reason behind it, “The weather over south Rajasthan, specifically over Udaipur could be hot in the coming days because the warm northeasterly winds from the land will raise the temperatures.”

Therefore book your tickets or backpack for a road trip to the bewitching Udaipur this weekend because this could be your last chance this year to relish the ‘City of Lakes’.

Photo by Arian Zweger.

Run in the rain and run as fast as you can if you want to get less wet! Yes as absurd as it may sound, researchers say, if you're caught in a downpour with no umbrella, run in the rain and do not walk. Run in the rain because it will not only help you get less wet as you reach your destination faster. Now, science gives the go-ahead to run in rain rather than walking in it.

Believe it or not, this question has received some serious scrutiny from the scientific community over the years.

Running as fast as you can is usually the best way to minimize wetness, according to Franco Bocci, a professor of engineering at the University of Brescia in Italy. The optimal travel speed varies depending on how thin you are, the wind speed, raindrop size and the angle between your path and the wind direction.

There are a few easy-to-identify exceptions worth remembering. If the wind is blowing in the direction you're traveling, attempt to jog at a speed equal to the wind speed. That's the pace at which you feel the least wind and the rain smacking against you. But if the wind is hitting your back at an angle, jog a little faster than you think it's blowing. The larger the angle, the more you should hustle.

Bocci further adds that his work reveals how complicated the running versus walking dilemma really is and the answer will become more complicated the more factors physicists take into its account.

In short, if your goal is to remain as dry as possible, then you should probably run through a downpour. If you are wearing protective rain gear, then you may want to conserve your energy and walk. If you are already soaked to the bone, it really doesn't matter much if you run or walk in the rain. Getting warm and dry clothes and a hot cup of coffee should be the first thing on your mind. Or like we always suggest, be ‘weather-wise’, be aware of the rain situation and current weather in your city before you head out!

Photo by Keith Bacongco.

Bad weather?? Are you panicking on a crucial review day, your juniors will either not turn up or if they do, they will be less productive? Now a new research will make you worry less. Most people believe that bad weather conditions reduce productivity. In a research, authors found just the opposite. Using empirical data from laboratory experiments as well as from a mid-sized Japanese bank, the research demonstrates that weather conditions influence one's own cognition and focus, but in a good way.  In context of indoor-working employees productivity is higher on bad weather day, rather than on good weather days. Though the definitions of bad weather can be vague and many, in this case, bad weather has been linked to rain and good weather signifies sunny days here.

Francesca Gino, who is an associate professor at Harvard Business School says, “when the weather is bad, individuals may focus more on their work rather than thinking about activities they could engage in outside of work. We proved it to great extent by testing our hypotheses using both field and lab data.”

In this research, first, the field data was gathered based on employees from a mid-sized bank in Japan, which was then matched with the daily weather data to investigate the effects of bad weather conditions (in terms of precipitation, visibility, and temperature) on their productivity. Second, a laboratory experiment was used, explaining the relationship between bad weather and increased productivity. Findings supported the proposed model and suggested that employee productivity is higher on bad rather than a good weather day. Here are some interesting points revealed by the research:

There are some key factors we must look at:

a) Organizations could assign more clerical work on rainy days than sunny days to tap into the effects of bad weather on productivity, assigning work that does not require sustained attention but does allow for more flexibility in thinking - We won’t refrain from assuming that all those ad makers and creative writers out there wait for it to turn cloudy and rainy so they can think better and more creatively!

b) Researchers say, there is a significant gap between people's general beliefs about the effects of weather on their productivity and the actual effect of weather on their behavior.

c) We are not biased towards juniors and biased against bosses but it is true that the fact that managers can’t control factors like bad weather, may also have powerful effects on employee’s productivity.

d) People believe that weather conditions influence their everyday work life, but to date, little is known about how exactly weather affects individual productivity.

So the next time the weather is terrible and you still manage to work well and productively, don’t be surprised. And we also hope bosses don’t use this as an excuse to put more work pressure on their subordinates!

Photo by Eric Audras.