The people of Dehradun would have to wait till November 15 to get the real feel of winter, say the weathermen. However, in the hills of the state, the mercury dipping to seven degree Celsius, particularly during the night hours, the people are bracing up for a long winter.
While the maximum temperature in Dehradun has been reported about two degrees above the normal for the last few days, the level of mercury has started dropping during the early morning and evening hours.
In the mountainous regions, however, the winter appears to have made an advent with the minimum temperate being reported below eight degrees Celsius, said the Uttarakhand Meteorological centre director Bikram Singh on Thursday. Singh said that the winter in the state spans over two months- January and February-while three months from October to December are marked as post- monsoon season.
A Dehradun- based doctor said that patients down with viral fever are coming to him in their droves. “People living in the plain districts should wear full-sleeved clothes and sufficient woollens to protect bodies from the ill-effects of the drastic fluctuation in the temperatures between the day and the morning/night hours. They are vulnerable to infections if they do not wear clothes required during this transitional period,” he said.
In Dehradun, the maximum temperature is hovering in the neighbourhood of 30 degree Celsius, normal, while the minimum is dipping to 12/13 degree Celsius.
“ It would take some time for the mercury to sufficiently dip for the real winter to set in,” Singh said, adding that the night temperature would start coming down by slow degrees from the next week.
“Things are a tad different in the mountainous districts where the minimum is dipping to 7 or 8 degree Celsius. In Mukteshwar, the maximum temperature was 20.0 degree Celsius, one degree above the normal while minimum was 7.8 degree Celsius, normal on Thursday,” he added.
Singh further said that the maximum temperature in Dehradun city and Pantnagar would drop below 25 degree Celsius after November 15 while below 20 degree Celsius after December 15.