VISHAKHAPATNAM: Winter has finally set in on the agency districts of ASR and Parvathipuram Manyam. Lambasingi, the coldest place in AP, registered a minimum temperature of 13.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
On the same date last year, it was 9 degree C, according to the automatic weather station at the Regional Agriculture Research Station, Chintapalli, in ASR district.
“We have foggy conditions in upper reaches of the district, making vehicular traffic slow down at the curves,’’ said assistant director of RARS, Suresh Kumar.
Residents of Chintapalli and Lambasingi revealed that thick fog has been enveloping their areas till 10 am for the last one week. The chill has been driving people indoors. After 4 pm, all roads leading to major villages and marketplaces are wearing a deserted look.
Suresh Kumar said the temperature would not drop the next week as a severe cyclonic storm was brewing in the Bay of Bengal.
The cold conditions are drawing tourists from all over the country. There was heavy footfall during the last week-end.
Borra Caves alone received 10,000 tourists last Sunday. The turnout was large at Tajangi, Araku Valley, Maridimilli and Lambasingi.
Tour operators said there were visitors from West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Hyderabad. The vistadome coach journey from Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley turned out to be a big attraction.
“This season we are expecting a record crowd as hotels in the agency area have already been booked till the end of Sankranti,’’ said Dheeraj, a well-known tour consultant.
