Winter sets in as night temperatures dips prompting people to be careful
Hyderabad: With the gradual dip in temperatures following the onset of winter in the city, the people emptied their racks packed with woolen clothes and blankets and using them to protect themselves from cool temperatures experienced in the last few days.
The woolen cloth sellers at Old Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad, Chaderghat, Koti and Kukatpally among other areas are doing brisk business and cashing in on the demand for wearing woolen sweaters, caps and jackets along with blankets.
Apart from woolen clothes, several people already started using cold creams to protect themselves from skin itching during winter. The sale of different types of cold creams and lip balms in grocery stores and supermarkets has also gone up significantly.
Motorists are forced to use their headlights beyond 6.30 am during the winter as several main roads in twin cities along with the city suburbs were enveloped with thick fog. On their part, the police advised the motorists to be extra cautious while driving on highways as many errant drivers stop their heavy vehicles beside the road either to have tea or food instead of parking them at the designated areas.
This poses grave danger to other motorists as they cannot see the vehicle due to poor visibility in winter and end up in hitting them resulting in a major accident, the police said, recalling several such accidents that happened in the highway connecting Hyderabad and Vijayawada earlier.
Same was the situation on the Warangal and Karimnagar highways. Keeping in view the previous incidents occurred in winter, the police asked the motorists to be careful while driving during winter.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh might register below normal two degree Celsius to three degree Celsius temperatures at isolated places and near normal over remaining parts of the country during the next few days.
In its local weather report for the next five days in Hyderabad, the MeT department said, the minimum temperature would hover between 16 degree Celsius and 17 degree Celsius while the day temperature between 30 degree Celsius and 31 degree Celsius with partly cloudy sky with haze.
According to MeT, it would mainly be a clear sky. The predominant surface wind is likely to be from northwest direction with speed less than eight kmph during morning hours. Smog or dense fog is likely in the morning. The wind speed will gradually increase, becoming 10-12 kmph from northwest direction during the afternoon. It will decrease thereafter, becoming less than eight kmph from the northwest direction during evening and night. Smog or shallow fog is likely in the evening or night.