Hyderabad: The last day of October was the coldest in the month, as minimum temperatures dropped to 16.6 degrees on early Tuesday, two degrees below normal. The winds were cold and dry soon after sunset and a blanket of cold air enveloped the city. Post-sunset, the city is getting a taste of winter and this coolness lingers till sunrise, though officially winter has not set in at Hyderabad.

The 16.6 degrees was recorded at Begumpet’s Meteorological centre on Tuesday morning, but if you venture into less ‘concrete’ zones like Hakimpet, AOC centre, Medchal, Bandlaguda, Dundigal, Patancherruvu, you’ll find that the temperatures have dropped even further, Hakimpet Air Force station has a separate weather recording bureau, but does not share the recordings.

North-Easterly winds triggered dip in temperature
Also, though the night temperatures are gradually dropping, there is no relief from increasing mercury levels. Hyderabad has been recording maximum temperature between 30- 32 degrees.

The local weather bureau has attributed the drop in night temperatures to the dry and cold North-Easterly winds flowing into the state.

“The North-Easterly winds are a result of North-East monsoons that are prevailing in South-East India (Chennai). These winds generally have less moisture and cold. The arrival of winter in Hyderabad will be in mid-December. There are chances of temperatures dropping further due to clear skies (no cloud formation),” said an official from the Indian Meteorological city unit.

Throughout the districts, dry weather has been prevailing, after the South West monsoons withdrew from Telangana. The forecast for the state is : dry weather, while Hyderabad will witness partly cloudy skies with haze for the coming seven days .