A bit of Kashmir in Andhra: At 7 degree C, Chintapalle records coldest morning

Visakhapatnam: A shallow layer of fog engulfed parts of Chintapalle, Paderu, and Pedabayalu in the ASR district on Friday morning, reducing visibility to 600 meters even as Chintapalle recorded the coldest morning with the temperature plummeting to 7 degree Celsius.

Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS) at Chintapalle in ASR districts said the minimum temperature was three notches below normal in Chintapalle. This is the lowest temperature recorded so far in the season.

Locals guess the temperature of the surrounding areas of the Chintapalle by deducting 1 to 2 degree Celsius from the temperature at RARS. Locals said that the mercury dipped to below 6 in many parts of the ASR district. Due to the dense fog, vehicular traffic was affected in the morning hours.

Director of IMD-Amaravati, Stella S said the minimum temperatures have been dipping in many parts of the state for the past few days. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 20 to 25 degrees Celsius during the day. The minimum temperatures will dip further in the coming days, she added.

The depression over Southwest Bay of Bengal remained practically stationary and lay centered over Southwest Bay of Bengal about 370 km east-northeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 480 km east of Nagappattinam (Tamil Nadu) and 540 km east-southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu).

It is likely to move slowly west southwestwards towards Comorin Area across Sri Lanka on Sunday. Under the influence, light to moderate rainfall at isolated places is likely over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema region in the state on Saturday and Sunday.

Chintapalle in the ASR district recorded the lowest temperature at 5 degrees Celsius in 2014 and mid-December 2012.

The majority of the locals in Chintapalle and other parts of the ASR district have preferred to stay indoors due to bone-biting cold and dense fog. Tourists however were seen huddling around the bonfires during the morning hours to keep themselves warm.

The foggy weather conditions at Lammasingi, Tajangi, Vanjangi, Dallapalle and a few other parts of Vizag Agency have been attracting tourists from various parts of the state. Lammasingi in ASR is popularly called Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh.