Ahmedabad: Brace for another spell of extreme cold

AHMEDABAD: Temperature dipped below 10°C on Wednesday in the city, marking a six-day spell of sub-10° conditions. India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said that cold wave conditions are expected to prevail in Gujarat for two days after Friday.
On Wednesday, Ahmedabad recorded 9°C, 3.9° below long-term average. Maximum temperature was 27.6°C, 1.6° below normal.
“Cold wave conditions prevailed at isolated pockets in the districts of South Gujarat and Saurashtra,” the IMD website said.
IMD officials said that minimum temperature can rise up to 11°C on Thursday and Friday before falling again on Saturday and Sunday. “Cold wave condition very likely at isolated pockets in the districts of Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Vadodara, Valsad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Amreli and Kutch,” the website said.
Amreli was the coldest place in the state, recording 6.8°C followed by Naliya (7°C), Mahuva (7.1°C), Kandla (7.5°C), Deesa (7.6°C), and Bhavnagar (8.6°C).
“Major cities in the state have temperatures hovering around 10°C,” said an official. “Low temperatures coupled with a dip in maximum temperatures turn on the chill in afternoons as well. Wind direction is northeasterly to easterly, causing a further dip in temperatures.”
Sources said that the recent spell can be considered one of the coldest in Ahmedabad and other parts of the state. IMD officials said the temperature slide is not a trend as weather often records year-to-year difference in pattern and severity. In Gujarat, temperatures usually rise after Uttarayan.