Cyclone Gaja warms up a cold November day

Hyderabad: November 17 was the warmest day in the city for a decade at 22.9°C. Night temperatures, however, went up from 14.8°C on Wednesday to 22.9°C on Saturday; nights will continue to be warmer over the next week in the state. 

The highest minimum temperature in a decade was recorded on November 27, 2010, at 17.3°C. The increase in the minimum temperature this month is attributed to Cyclone Gaja and the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal.

Dry weather is likely to prevail over the state. Since the beginning of November the temperature has been above normal.

Mahesh Palwat, chief meteorologist at Skymet, said, “We are yet to ascertain if it is warmest or not, but the trend is that every November is warmer than the previous one since the last few years. Year by year all months are warmer than the previous year and globally also this is the trend, due to climate change and global warming.”

He said that Delhi’s temperature went from 10.5°C, to 18°C and later dropped to 11°C this month. 

After Gaja’s offset, the humid south-easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal are affecting Andhra Pradesh, Telangana state and parts of Vidarbha. These winds are warm and humid, coming from the Bay of Bengal, and because of this, temperatures have increased over many parts of the state. 

He said the minimum temperature usually decreases during November and December leading to cold nights as the northern winds from the Himalayas reach TS. “We expect after three or four days, when the weather system dies down, winds from the north, where temperatures are already low, will start blowing and the temperature will come down.