India needs to brace itself for a warmer winter this year

Hyderabad: In a fresh forecast, Indian Meteorological Department said that winter this year would be warmer than the average minimum temperature in most parts of India. It is excluding of the northernmost parts of India. The weather department mentioned that cold waves this year would be a degree Celsius warmer, and Telangana falls in the Cold Wave Zone. The forecast is for winter season from December 2019 to February 2020.

Other than Telangana, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and some parts of Maharashtra are also expected to have a warm winter.

Mahesh Palawat, Chief Meteorologist with Skymet (an independent weather observer body), told NewsMeter, “This year, the western winds/disturbances are not allowing a continuous flow of cold winds coming from the Himalayas. Due to which, the cold winds are not reaching states like Telangana, and it will result in a warmer winter. It was the case in November, and it will continue till January.”

The minimum average temperature for Telangana until December 2, 2019, has increased by 5.1 degree Celsius, which is slightly above normal, says the weather department. The latest forecast predicts that warm conditions are prevailing in the Pacific Ocean, while it will cool down in the forthcoming winter. Palawat said, “The eastern winds from the Bay of Bengal are also slightly warmer than normal. Hence we forecast that the winter will be slightly warmer than normal as well.”

While speaking about the Bay of Bengal, Palawat added, “The light rains that Hyderabad sees today are due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal, and it will subdue within the day. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will see dry days for a week at least.”

Earlier this year, IMD also predicted a warmer summer than usual. The average temperature during winters in Telangana has been 15 degree Celsius. While last year, the minimum temperature in Hyderabad reached 12.8 degrees Celsius, which was the lowest in six years. The World Economic Forum has also predicted a warmer winter this year for the Arctic zone. It says that this could be because of global climate change.