Chill Missing This Winter, Summer May Be Harsher in AP

Visakhapatnam: The winter this year has been warmer compared to the previous years. January will witness higher temperatures in Andhra Pradesh, weather experts have said.

The real chill experienced in Lambasingi, Chintapalle and Parvathipuram last year has been missing. Lambasingi and Chintalli recorded single digit minimum temperature only twice in December last year. For the rest of the days, it was around 11°C to 13°C.

Though it is cold and foggy in the early hours of the day, the urban dwellers are still using ceiling fans and avoiding warm clothes.

“The climate is getting warmer every year due to climate change. As a result, we may experience a harsher summer this year in the coastal and Rayalaseema regions. It, though, is too early to predict the severity of the summer,’’ said a senior scientist at IMD Amaravati.

Thin ice sheets were formed over grasslands and vehicles were parked in the open in January last year in Chintapalli and Lambasingi. Both the villages are located at a height of 3,600 feet in ASR district. This year, the average minimum temperatures are at less than 13°C.

However, the ASR and Parvathipuram Manyam districts are experiencing heavy fog till 10am and it is getting darker before sunset, making it difficult for vehicular movement.

On January 6, 1992, the temperature of Chintapalli dropped to zero degree Celsius, the lowest temperature recorded in 30 years. Visakhapatnam recorded a minimum temperature of 18.4°C on Jan 2, 2024.

The state’s highest maximum temperature of 48.8°C was recorded at Gannavaram on May 11, 2002.

According to SDRF, in 2016, 723 people died due to heatstroke, 236 in 2017 and 28 in 2019. There were no heatstroke deaths in the last three summers.

Environmentalist J. Ratnam said the government should go for massive tree plantation to combat the heat condition. “The urban areas should be covered with 50 per cent green to absorb the heat in summers,’’ Ratnam said.