North East Monsoon plays truant and Winter is playing hide and seek

Udhagamandalam: Neither rains despite gathering clouds and overcast conditions over the past few days nor Wintry features notwithstanding a nip in the air.

With this being the picture on the weather front,of late, in this hill station it has started dominating discussions in various circles here.

Many long time residents interviewed by The Covai Post said that they were not able to draw a parallel to the present situation during the several decades of their stay in the town.

Expressing concern over the unusual weather prevailing here,the President,Public Awareness Association of Udhagamandalam G.Janardhanan feared that it would alter severely the normal weather pattern.

Pointing out that under normal conditions the town and its surroundings should have by now received a good amount of rainfall and should be bracing itself for a mild,moderate or harsh Winter,the Joint Director of Horticulture N.Mani said that usually Wintry conditions commence around the middle of November.There should be a sharp drop in temperature between dusk and dawn and different parts of the town especially on the outskirts should be experiencing frost.

Preparations for the Summer of 2017 particularly the Annual Floral carnival have been thrown out of gear on account of the abnormal weather. Use of pop-up sprinklers to protect the lawns and brooms to shield young plants have still not become an absolute must.

Expressing the hope that Winter will set in soon,Mr.Mani pointed out that on the farm front the Winter season is very important as it helps destroy soil pests and prepares the land for the next crop.

Even people in the habit of taking a walk shortly after dawn said that they are yet to start taking extra precautionary measures because the usual biting chillness is conspicuous by its absence.

Bonfires near autorickshaw and taxi stands which are usually a common sight are also not many in number.