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 8th 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 7th. 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 9th 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:
| 1-Jan-13 | 14 | 1 |
| 2-Jan-13 | 13 | 2 |
| 3-Jan-13 | 14 | 3 |
| 4-Jan-13 | 14 | 2 |
| 5-Jan-13 | 11 | 1 |
| 6-Jan-13 | 8 | 0.5 |
| 7-Jan-13 | 13 | 1 |
| 8-Jan-13 | 19 | -1.0 |
| 9-Jan-13 | 19.4 | 1 |
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 1st. In 2009, it was 3.6⁰C on January 2nd. 2010, the temperature was recorded at 0.8⁰C as its lowest minimum. 2011’s lowest minimum was 0.6⁰C on January 6th whereas 2012’s was 0.4⁰C on January 21st. “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.
