Cold wave from North sends the night temperature down

Coimbatore: Cold wave from the northern parts of the country seems to be making the city residents shiver at night after several years. With temperature dropping to 16C, people have begun sporting light jackets, sweaters and mufflers while riding two-wheelers at night. The chilly weather is expected to continue until January 8.
The city has been recording a minimum temperature of 16.6C since Tuesday night, almost 3C lower than the 19.8C recorded on Sunday night. However, the maximum temperature continues to hover around 30C. “There is less cloud formation in the plains and it leads to extreme temperature,” said an official with the regional meteorological centre in Chennai.

“The other reason is unfiltered flow of cold winds from North and North East India that originate from the Himalayas,” said Mahesh Palawat, a meteorologist with Skymet weather services. “Usually, the southeast winds start blowing by now to balance out the temperature. Since these winds have been delayed by 6-8 days, the cold wave is continuing. However, it should slowly start balancing out after 24 hours,” he said.

However, chilly air, especially at night, seems to be affecting the people riding home or travelling in public transport the most. “There is mist in the air. People who don’t wear helmets should cover their extremities to avoid getting sick,” said N Karthikeyan, a marketing professional.

Many software professionals, riding home after 9pm, were seen sporting light jackets, shrugs, scarves or at least stoles covering their upper bodies and faces. “I never imagined taking out my winter wear in the city. I remember covering myself with stoles and scarves last during the heat wave two years back,” said Divya Kumar, a college student. “But it is fun to wear some jackets in the city.”

However, night duty labourers and security guards seem to be finding it difficult to stay up in the cold. While most of them have begun sporting woollen sweaters, a few labourers have expressed inability to work through the night.