As the cold wave hits the entire north, northwest and east India, temperatures below zero in the Taj city, Agra has broken all the records. The intense cold brought the minimum temperatures in Agra on January 8^th 2013 to 8⁰C below normal as it fell to its lowest so far at     -1⁰C. The day temperature however was around 19⁰C, which rose from 13⁰C on January 7^th. Experts say the rapid change in the climate of India and world has led to such shocking figures and therefore the cold wave in India is at its peak this winter.

Climate of India has various seasons with their own unique charm but the season that attracts most is the crisp winter season. But as they say, everything has its pros and cons. So does the cold. The winter weather in India, when turns severe, leads to a massive decline in the tourism of a city so popular. And Agra is surely bearing the brunt of it these days!

Weather forecasters at Skymet Weather say, “Records show that the last time this trend was seen in the climate of India with temperatures dropping close to the current figures or even lower, was on January 16th 1935 when the minimum temperature was recorded at -2⁰C.” “Tourists can however visit Agra during the weekend as temperatures will gradually increase by 2 to 3⁰C by Saturday. Intensity and duration of fog too will reduce gradually” add weathermen at Skymet. Currently the temperatures have improved Agra a bit due a fresh ‘Western Disturbamce’ and the long dense fog hours too have reduced significantly. Till January 9^th the fog in Agra had been dense throughout the day. The rise in temperatures and reduction of fog is also due to a change in the wind from northerly to northwesterly, weathermen say. The winds are stronger and less cold now.

The weather in January 2013 in Agra has been between subzero to 3⁰C. Here’s the record depicting the max and min temperature:

Going back a little to take a look at the climate of India and see the temperature trends in the last few years, we see that in 2008, the lowest minimum temperature was 1.8⁰C on January 1^st. In 2009, it was 3.6⁰C on January 2^nd. 2010, the temperature was recorded at 0.8⁰C as its lowest minimum. 2011’s lowest minimum was 0.6⁰C on January 6^th whereas 2012’s was 0.4⁰C on January 21^st. “This steep fall in the temperatures clearly point out at a serious change ahead of us in the climate of India as colder places are becoming even colder and a time will come when frost will be a common phenomenon in the plains of north India”, says, Head of the forecasting team, Mahesh Palawat.

This bone chilling cold is not just bothering the city people who are dealing with the erratic power and water supply, but has also disrupted the tourism of Agra immensely. Tour guide Ram Singh says, “I have made very little money as the number of people coming to see the Taj Mahal has reduced so much this year”. Number of flights and railway delays is also one important factor that has led to the fall in tourism. But as always, the homeless were the worst victims of the harsh winter.

Photo by Arian Zwegers.

The climate of India and the different seasons it incorporates has a huge impact on the tourism of India. But the everyday changes being felt in the climate of India that have led to major developments in the weather of some major cities in India and extinction of some exquisite species has alarmed farmers, city people, weather enthusiasts and of course, weathermen across the globe.

The change in the climate of India has impacted almost every region in the country, effects of which are showing in the land of tradition and historical importance, Gujarat! The weather in Gujarat in India has characteristics that are quite different. The places that lie near the coasts are humid whereas the ones lying in the interiors experience a completely dry and hot climatic condition. The Rann of Kutch for example suffers from an extreme climate where the summers are extremely hot and the winters are too cold. The weather in Gujarat in India in the winter months sometimes drops to 6⁰C whereas the maximum stays around 27⁰C with bright sunshine.

The weather in Gujarat in India is crucial during the winter months of December and January because this is the time when maximum tourists visit for the famous Rann Utsav, an unparalleled showcase of widely different yet hugely diffused spectrum of Indian traditional art forms. Enchanting presentations of different art forms, dances and music on full moon nights, this in the aura of the chilling winters is a major attraction.

The weather in Gujarat in India in Janaury 2013 however has been a little different from what it was last year. Weather forecasters at Skymet Weather say, “There has been a variation in the minimum temperature by 2⁰C”. Last year the minimum temperature on the January 9^th was colder at 7.4⁰C whereas this year has been recorded at 11⁰C. This figure is even higher than the monthly minimum average of 8.4⁰C. The wind speed on the other hand too is quite calm at 10 to 15 kmph. A usual wind speed pattern during the winter months in Gujarat is much higher than this and makes the weather colder. All these facts and figures point out that if not warm; the weather this time around at Rann has been not as cold as it was last year.

Head of the Forecasting team at Skymet, Mahesh Palawat says, “Though this change right now is not too significant and will not hamper tourism in the state yet, but there will be a time when major changes in the world’s climate, climate of India and the weather in Gujarat will be witnessed is not very far away. To fight it on a whole, becoming more educated about weather and being weather wise always is essential”.

Photo by Gujarat Tourist Guide.

An earthquake was reported in northeast India that occurred on Wednesday. Mahesh Palawat, the head of the forecasting team says, “this earthquake was of moderate intensity and has measured at 5.9 on the Richter scale.” The earthquake hit many parts of northeast India. Earthquakes in India are a common phenomenon but even then the awareness on earthquake safety is still quite less among us.

The earthquake that hit northeast India was felt in parts of Guwahati, Itanagar, Kohima and Imphal. The earthquake jolted all these regions at 7:12 in the morning and its epicenter was 89 km underneath the earth’s crust along the Indo-Mayanmar border. Officials at the Regional Seismological Centre at Guwahati said that this earthquake could have caused damage to life and property had it been anything more than 5.9 on the Richter scale. Had it been severe, it could have hit many unalarmed or even people asleep early morning at seven.

But although the earthquake hit only for a few seconds, it rocked all the major cities and towns in northeast India. H. Lallenmawia, Joint Director of Mizoram Geology and Mineral Resources department said the epicentre was in Phek district of Nagaland. Dr. Lallenmawia also said that the technical information about the quake was received from the seismological centre of the North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat in Assam.

Reports have come in from Imphal as well, where officials say the quake lasted in Manipur for almost a minute. However no reports of damage to life or property has come from any region but fear stricken people who ran out of their homes to protect themselves are scared that quake affects could be felt again. Skymet officials say “people’s fear is obvious seeing the increase in the number of earthquakes and other such disasters in India in the last few years”.

Read this to educate you and your community on what measures to take and how to be safe, before, during and after an earthquake.

http://www.skymetweather.com/content/2012/10/ready-to-shake-out/

Photo by CECAR

The weather in Tamil Nadu in the winter months of October to December is characterized by rains from the northeast monsoon. These three months therefore are a crucial period in deciding the weather of Tamil Nadu and the possible changes in conditions in the coming seasons. Farmers too depend entirely on the weather of Tamil Nadu to be perfect so it can get them adequate rain for their paddy crops.

But the rapidly spreading climatic change played havoc in the just ended 2012 and made the weather in Tamil Nadu during the usual wet winter months, completely dry! After a dismal spell of southwest monsoon in 2012, hopes from the northeast monsoons to improve the weather of Tamil Nadu were shattered too. Weather forecasters at Skymet say that Tamil Nadu seems to be headed for one of its worst monsoons shortfalls. While figures show that Chennai faced a 30% deficient in rainfall, Madurai is at 45%. The whole of Tamil Nadu on the other hand should have got 413.6mm of rain but has received only 356.6mm, rainfall short by 14%. This serious rain deficit in Tamil has alarmed many farmers who have already decided to shift to other varieties of crops that require lesser water. Scientists say it’s shocking to see how climate change in India and the world is showing its deviations so rapidly. They say that there was no rain deficit in Tamil Nadu till 2003 when the state received excellent rainfall. This rain deficit in Tamil Nadu in 2012 therefore will require some strategic planning from the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board as the water levels in the reservoirs are about half of what they were in 2011, in the month of December.

Chennai is likely to face an acute drinking water shortage in the summer of 2013 since the tardy north-east monsoon has failed to replenish the city's reservoirs. The WRD (water resources department) stated in the last week of December 2012, a shortfall of more than 6,000mcft of water. Agriculture and forest departments are now identifying supplementary catchment areas to get water. Water experts in the state have also pitched for restoring lakes and other water bodies as a more sustainable solution.

It’s appalling to see that even though the capital of the state, Chennai has more than 3,000 water bodies (including 1500 lakes and 29 water tanks), water deficit in Tamil Nadu has become so common. Currently, water deficit in Tamil Nadu’s reservoirs is close to 78% lower than its normal level. Scientist and Dr. NVK Chakravarty at Skymet Weather says, "strict monitoring mechanism must be put in place to ensure that all buildings have rainwater harvesting systems and rain deficit in Tamil Nadu can be avoided."

It’s not just north, northwest and the eastern parts of the country that have been feeling the wrath of the cold weather with temperatures being way below normal, the west coast of the country has been feeling the ‘cold wave’ too. The change in the climate in Maharashtra has forced the city people to pull out their winter wear and caps as the nights have become icy cold here as well.

The weather in Maharashtra is of a typical moderate nature where the temperatures stay in the higher twenties or thirties during the January month, which is the coldest month in the northern part of India. The weather in Mumbai particularly does at times suffer from the ‘cold wave’ due to lack of frequent ‘Western Disturbances’ as the temperatures drop and the direct flow of the freezing northwesterly winds make nights colder.

The weather in Mumbai on January 6th 2013 was quite cold as the temperature was recorded at 27.4⁰C maximum, which was 3⁰C below its normal figures, and the minimum temperature dropped to a whopping 11.3⁰C, 6⁰C below normal.  Weather forecasters at Skymet Weather say, “The last time the weather in Mumbai turned so cold was in 2008 when the minimum temperature was recorded at 10.2⁰C. This was the lowest in 45 years”.

However such climate in Maharashtra has not only brought changes in the weather of Mumbai, it has also affected the Nasik region adversely. The minimum temperature in Nasik on January 6th was recorded at a very cold 4⁰C while today; on January 7th it was recorded at 6.4⁰C. Agriculturists and Scientists at Skymet Weather inform that the grape crop could be badly affected due to this. This takes us back to the change in the climate in Maharashtra, witnessed last year too. Nasik recorded a minimum temperature of 3⁰C and the grapes crystallized due to exposure to the cold weather.

Mahesh Palawat, weather forecast at Skymet says, the ‘cold wave’ in Maharashtra is likely to continue for the next three to four days easily and the people of Mumbai and Nasik, particularly will have to rely on their winter clothes for the time being.” These changes in the climate of Maharashtra, affecting the weather of Mumbai, the ‘cold wave’ condition, and lowest minimum temperatures being recorded every year, with acres of crops being destroyed, points out that even though people have been noticing these changes, they still aren’t doing enough to help it. Being aggressively weather wise is the only solution for us now.

Photo by Enygmatic-Halycon.

If you belong to the eastern part of India, then the freezing temperatures these days must be making you highly uncomfortable and uneasy in the morning as Uttar Pradesh has set some astonishing temperature records in the New Year. The climate of India in the winter months in Uttar Pradesh does witness severe cold but this time the mercury dipped to a whopping 0.6⁰C at Hindon, on Friday, January 4th 2013 while the maximum temperature on Monday, January 7th dropped to 6.8⁰C (the lowest max temp in entire India). It was due to this that schools remain shut, office goers pulled out more sweaters and jackets, and workers too stopped to set up bon-fires to get some relief from the biting cold.

Piercing temperature that freeze you are typical characteristics of the climate of India during the months the December and January. Increased frequency of the ‘Western Disturbance’ accompanied by dense fog, rain and wind speed during these months often plummet the temperatures to new lows. Though head forecaster, Mahesh Palawat at Skymet says “the last month of the year 2012 though saw a warmer trend as the climate of India has changed in recent years, but weather in January 2013 has made up for it”.

Climate of India has often been in the news and a topic of discussion for all those researching on global warming and its effects, as new records are being set each day (late arrival of rain, stretched summer spell and delayed and warm winters), but the weather in 2013 in India has been particularly different because it was not just Uttar Pradesh, but also Delhi that recorded 1.9⁰C on January 6th, its lowest so far. Today, Churu in Rajasthan also recorded its lowest so far at 2.7⁰C. Hisar in Haryana on the other hand recorded -1.1⁰C on January 6th. As cold day conditions prevail, maximum temperatures have witnessed a fall of 6 to 9⁰C and 5 to 7⁰C lower than the normal in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi respectively. The normal maximum temperature of both the above states hovers around 21⁰C in the month of January.

But the weather gods haven’t just stopped at that, they have decided to pour in some dense fog too, in UP, Delhi, Haryana and Bihar to disrupt the daily life of people. And it is this severe cold that has already claimed more than 100 lives in Uttar Pradesh itself.

Weather forecast at Skymet predicts a similar pattern in the climate of India till mid-January, thereafter the weather in Uttar Pradesh and adjoining areas will become tolerable.

Photo by Ashok666.