Hyderabad: It’s chilly but not winter yet, confirms IMD

The minimum temperatures captured by the India Meteorological Department Wednesday morning reported a drop of 5.4 degree from normal in the Medak district, followed by a drop of 4.6 and 4.2 degrees at Hyderabad and Hanamkonda, respectively. Officials at the IMD’s Hyderabad centre say the drop in temperatures can be attributed to an ongoing transition period from southwest monsoon to northeast monsoon season.

“No, it is not a cold wave. A gradual fall in temperature levels is normal during the transition period, usually in mid-October,” said Dr K Naga Rathna, Scientist-E, head of IMD Hyderabad. According to her, the northeast monsoon may set in around October 28 and Telangana is not expected to receive any monsoon rain while Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions of Andhra Pradesh may see some showers.

“As the north-east monsoon sets in, dry weather will prevail. As of now, the winds are more variable and once the northerly winds are stable, we can expect winter conditions to strengthen from the first week of November,” she said. As per climatology reports, she added, “Even in November, we expect the minimum temperatures to remain slightly above normal on an average. We can expect the mornings to be misty.”

With the southwest monsoon officially withdrawn, IMD-Hyderabad officials said Telangana has received an above-normal rainfall of 46 per cent between June and September 2022, as compared to above-normal rainfall of 39 per cent during the same period last year. Kumaram Bheem Asifabad (1,793.3 mm), Mulugu (1,759.3 mm) and Nirmal (1,599.6 mm) districts received the maximum rainfall, reporting an excess of over 80 per cent.

Against a normal rainfall of 734 mm for the season, Telangana received 1,073.3 mm. While a 9 per cent excess rainfall was recorded in June and a large excess of 145 per cent was recorded in July, the rainfall in August was deficient by 20 per cent. In September, an excess rainfall of 35 per cent was recorded again, according to the officials. For the record, the state capital region of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medak districts recorded an excess of 20 per cent, 22 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively, during the southwest monsoon season.