Warmer winter this year in Telangana

Telangana experiences warmer winter with no cold wave, strong easterly winds from Bay of Bengal.

Telangana has experienced a slightly warmer winter this year with temperatures a few degrees more than the normal this time of the season and there is no likelihood of cooler temperatures in the week ahead as the strong easterly winds from Bay of Bengal continue to dominate the climate, according to scientists at the TS Development Planning Society (TSDPS) on Tuesday.

“There is a perceptible easterly winds bias this winter, so we cannot expect any cold wave. Temperatures have been definitely two to three degrees above normal at most places when compared to the same time last year. Temperatures in Delhi and other places up north too have been experiencing more than normal temperatures,” said weather forecast consultant Y.V. Rama Rao.

Usually, Telangana should have been experiencing cold wave conditions from December 15 to January 15 but this has not happened this time though there were a few nippy days and nights. Strong winds from easterly to southwestern have been prevalent. After ‘Sankranti’, the day temperatures are only likely to go on an upper trajectory path, he explained.

With regard to the overall rainfall in the last monsoon season from June to December — the Southwest Monsoon from June to September and the Northeast monsoon from October to December, has been seven per cent above normal or 91.4 cm yet it is -25% deficit of the previous year (22-23) at the same time when recorded rainfall has been 122.4 cm.

Climate analysis by scientists at the TS Development Planning Society (TSDPS) as on date showed that the Southwest Monsoon has delivered 86.1 cm or 17% above normal of 73.7 cm, but this was still 22% deficient when compared to the previous year (22-23) of 109.8 cm.

Highest rainfall recorded has been in July (49 cm) followed by September (22 cm) whereas it was just 8 cm in August and 7.3 cm in June (23-24). This was significantly less compared to the previous year when it was 15.1 cm in June, 54 cm in July, 18.6 cm in August and 22.2 cm in September. During the Northeast Monsoon, rainfall has been 0.65 cm in October (11.8 cm previous year), 2.1 cm in November (0.9 cm) and 2.6 cm in December (0.7 cm).

Overall, the rainfall excess districts have been Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Rajanna-Sircilla, Medak, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Siddipet and Warangal while the deficient districts have been Nagarkurnool and Jogulamba Gadwal. Rest of the districts, including the capital region, had received normal rainfall as has been the State average.