Minimum temperature in Mysuru city hovers around 10°C

Mysuru: Sweaters, shawls and mufflers are among the apparels in fashion in 2019, or so it may appear in Mysuru city. More because of necessity than trend, citizens are cloaking themselves in warm attire given a sharp dpi in the mercury levels in Mysuru, with the minimum temperature hovering around the 10 degrees Celsius (°C) since New Year’s Day. Officials in the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru state that the minimum temperatures recorded in the city over the past few days are 6°C below normal. However, the forecast also seems to indicate that the temperatures will return to normal levels by Sunday, the officials added.
Director of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) Srinivas Reddy told TOI, “Two factors have resulted in the mercury levels dipping in Mysuru. The first are the winds blowing from North India, which has effected a decrease of two to three degrees, while the second is the clear sky overhead.”

Reddy however pointed to a rise in the minimum temperature on Thursday, and endorsed the observations of the IMD that the mercury levels would return to normal by the weekend.

Although Mysuru citizens are not unaccustomed to nippy weather, it has been a long time since temperatures in the city slid all the way down to 10°C. Not surprisingly, woollen has become the fashion of the city, and one finds people thickly clad in sweaters and mufflers carelessly tied around their necks, warming themselves near fires lit in open areas. However, regular activities in the city have been affected badly because of the dip in temperatures.

While vendors have resorted to lighting fires by their carts, the cold has resulted in few devotees going to temples for the early morning rituals and pujas, which is the tradition during Dhanur masa (Dhanur month in the Hindu calendar). “We start rituals early in the morning during Dhanur Masa, and the devotees too attend these pujas. But the cold weather has affected our daily practices,” said Ganesh Deekshit, an assistant priest at a Shiva temple in Agrahara.

On the other hand, sweater and muffler traders have registered good business because of the change in weather conditions. “This is a seasonal business,” said Sunaiah, a vendor near the Lakshmi Theatre bus stand.

Mysuru shivers as mercury level dips

Date

Minimum temperature in Mysuru (°C)

December 29

18

December 30

18

December 31

16.8

January 1

14.4

January 2

10.4

January 3

10.4

Source: Indian Meteorological Department, Bengaluru

Note: °C means degrees Celsius