The Hindu : Front Page : There’s a nip in the air

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Thursday, Dec 06, 2007
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There’s a nip in the air

M. Raghuram

City recorded 19 degrees Celsius at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday

Chilly weather attributed to easterly winds
It is likely to continue throughout December

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

KEEPING IT wARM: Trendy warm clothing was out in full force in Bangalore on Wednesday when the city was in the grip of a cold spell.

Bangalore: Bangaloreans looked distinctly bulkier on Wednesday as everyone seemed to have pulled out their woollies.

The garden city has started experiencing the chill of winter, which brings with it the promise of Christmas and New Year gaiety.

But before that celebration, there will be some rather cold weather prevailing over the city.

So prepare to keep those extra pullovers, rugs and woollies out as it will be cold even in daytime, according to the Meteorology Department.

Wind factor

Bringing down the temperature is the northeast monsoon and the easterly winds blowing over parts of the southern peninsula, particularly Rayalaseema, coastal Andhra Pradesh, south interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala.

According to the Director of the Meteorology Department, G.S. Vijayaraghavan, the chilly weather is going to be there even during the day for a few more days as there is a big patch of cloud cover over these areas.

Mr. Vijayaraghavan told The Hindu that this cloudy weather had brought down the daytime temperature to 19 degrees Celsius (recorded at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday).

On Tuesday, the temperature at 2.30 p.m. was 26 degrees Celsius. He said it was natural for the region to be chilly during this part of the year, but the moisture in the air had given the weather that extra nip. Night temperatures were not likely to come down further.

Mr. Vijayaraghavan said that the region did not get its share of northeast monsoon showers in expected volumes, and the cloudy weather in Bangalore was only an indication of the chances of rain that might occur in other parts of the region, mainly Rayalaseema, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This weather would continue on and off in Bangalore all through December, he said.

Brisk business

The sale of woollies in the city has gone up, and roadside vendors are doing brisk business. Several Sherpa woollen vendors on K.G. Road and in Gandhinagar, Jayanagar and Vijayanagar said that sales had been encouraging.

So too for the Rajasthani vendors camping near Goraguntepalya with their large stocks of rugs, quilts, caps and sweaters. Fresh stocks they said would arrive in a day or two.

Their agent in Bangalore, Rangaraja Reddy, said that the quilts were warm and affordable.

He had ordered 10 truckloads of quilts in November, and 60 per cent of the stocks had already been sold. The remainder was being sent to Mysore, Hassan, Kodagu and Chikmagalur.

On Sundays, these vendors throng the end of B.V.K. Iyengar Road where people from rural areas come shopping. By evening the vendors return home after exhausting their stock.

In the uptown areas there are several sales of branded woollies with brand-conscious youngsters sparing no effort to carry home stylish sweaters and pullovers. Leather wear is in great demand.

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