PUNE: The winter is in, not the chill.
The city's night temperature has remained above 12°C this December so far. Worse, the mercury soared to an abnormal 21°C on Wednesday morning. The lowest temperature dropped to 17°C on Thursday. Yet, it was 5.6 degrees warmer than normal.
Worry not. A Met department official said the December temperature would start dipping soon as conditions had become favourable for the chill to return. The city's minimum temperature will start dipping in a day's time and may drop to 11°C by December 9.
"The Bay of Bengal system is likely to intensify further into a deep depression during the next 24 hours. But there is a probability of slight weakening of the system while it skirts the east coast. This, along with the influence of the westerly trough, is likely to bring the chill back to Pune," the official said.
Like December, this November was also warmer compared to other years. The lowest temperature of the month was 11.4°C. The mercury slipped below the 10°C-mark on several occasions in previous years in November. The temperature was as low as 7°C and even 4°C a few decades ago. The lowest minimums in December are usually below 10°C — like 8.3°C recorded in 2016 and 6.6°C in 2015.
An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told TOI that the recent system (cyclonic storm Ockhi and later the depression) caused cloudy skies and pushed up the minimum temperature. The anti-cyclone over the central India prior to that prevented cold, northerly winds from penetrating into Maharashtra.
"The last week was under the influence of the cyclonic system, which kept the night temperature high. Before that, an anti-cyclone over the central India prevented the northerlies from penetrating into the region, while high-amplitude easterlies (warm, moist winds) from the south were coming in," an IMD official said.
The city's night temperature has remained above 12°C this December so far. Worse, the mercury soared to an abnormal 21°C on Wednesday morning. The lowest temperature dropped to 17°C on Thursday. Yet, it was 5.6 degrees warmer than normal.
Worry not. A Met department official said the December temperature would start dipping soon as conditions had become favourable for the chill to return. The city's minimum temperature will start dipping in a day's time and may drop to 11°C by December 9.
"The Bay of Bengal system is likely to intensify further into a deep depression during the next 24 hours. But there is a probability of slight weakening of the system while it skirts the east coast. This, along with the influence of the westerly trough, is likely to bring the chill back to Pune," the official said.
Like December, this November was also warmer compared to other years. The lowest temperature of the month was 11.4°C. The mercury slipped below the 10°C-mark on several occasions in previous years in November. The temperature was as low as 7°C and even 4°C a few decades ago. The lowest minimums in December are usually below 10°C — like 8.3°C recorded in 2016 and 6.6°C in 2015.
An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told TOI that the recent system (cyclonic storm Ockhi and later the depression) caused cloudy skies and pushed up the minimum temperature. The anti-cyclone over the central India prior to that prevented cold, northerly winds from penetrating into Maharashtra.
"The last week was under the influence of the cyclonic system, which kept the night temperature high. Before that, an anti-cyclone over the central India prevented the northerlies from penetrating into the region, while high-amplitude easterlies (warm, moist winds) from the south were coming in," an IMD official said.
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