Ooty: Frost has made its reappearance here in this hill centre after a lull over the past two weeks. Ecologists said it may continue till February end if climatological factors favour it. Along with frost, cold wave during night hours has been sweeping the hills.
Frosting, a phenomenon associated with winter in the hills, was quite severe since the last week of December this winter here. It had led to severe frost-bite that affected vegetation and the jungles.
The severity of frosting eased after Pongal but frost is back at the end of January taking a toll on greenery and vegetation.
While the minimum temperature in the town limits here was around 5 degree Celsius on Wednesday morning, in the suburb limits it has dipped further down resulting in frosting that turned everything white on ground, especially in low lying areas.
Vegetable farmers say frosting is good as it kills pests in the farms and helps prepare the land for the next cropping season but for tea growers it is a curse as frosting severelyaffects yield of tea. Frosting pattern this year has been erratic, said Mr M. Kumaravel, field officer at CPR Environment Education Centre.
It is surprising that frost is back towards the end of January when actually frosting comes to an end. It may be due to some climatological factors and variations. Weathermen have predicted that frosting may continue till end of February this season.
Severe frosting would change the agriculture pattern and impact tea bushes, he said.
