Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Heat Wave in Mumbai.

The heat in Mumbai has literally crossed all limits in Mumbai.The last two/three days have been unbearably hot(see last posting in blog),and has hit all time highs in temperatures.Jan 30th.2007 recorded 36.2°c at colaba,which is above normal by 7°c for this day.The previous highest for Jan at colaba was 35.6°c on 16th.Jan 1965.
At SantaCruz,the temoerature was 36.4°c on 31st.Jan.2007 which is 5°c above normal.The prevoius high was 36.2°c on 17th.Jan 1961.

Sevaral places in India are still on above normal temperatures ranging from 4-8°c above.Bhubaneshwar 35.8 (+06) , Goa (Panjim) 35.5 (+04 ).

Monday, January 29, 2007

I have been mentioning that there are no signs of winter in Maharashtra and Gujarat regions.And now,with the incursion of moisture from the Arabian Sea,due to a trough in the Comorin area,and a trough in the westerlies around Rajasthan and M.P.the two states have become cloudy and the temperatures even warmer.
Look at this list and these deviations !The Maximum ,and the deviation and the minimum along with the deviation of Maharshtra and Gujarat.And also some wild devitions in Delhi and Guna !
Ahmedabad 32.7 +04 & 20.1 +08
Akola 34.4 +03 & 19.2 +05
Aurangabad 30.4 00 & 17.5 +06
Bhuj 30.3 +03 & 16.0 +06
Mumbai 33.0 +02 & 23.6 +08
Pune 28.7 -02 & 16.9 +05
Rajkot 32.8 +04 & 18.2 +07

New Delhi (SFD) 28.6 +07 & 12.3 +04
Guna 30.8 +05 & 18.0 +10

Warm !thats what it is now,and the temperatures are what it would be in mid March.So,in western India, we have an early summer season now in January !Hopefully,like elsewhere,it will revert back to normal,at least,with the passing of this trough and the clouds.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

In continuation of my last blog,this year,as yet,the winter in several parts of the world has been warmer than normal.In Eastern U.S.especially in New York,the temperatures have been above normal,till 16th.Jan,and Jim informs that on 6th.Jan,the day was as high as 22°c,against a normal of 3°c.On many days throughout Jan,New York has seen warmer than normal days with the day temperatures hovering around 8-10°c.

Jim has also given some useful data on the severe winter in Moscow last year.As compared to this year,last year resembled an artic winter.In jan 2006,Moscow saw a mild day on 16th. with a daytime high of -1°C (30°F), but then on 17th. night temperatures in the city plummeted to -29°C .On 17th. the mercury only struggled to a high of -21°C.and on 18th.to -27°c.On 19th.the minimum fell to -31°c.

Well,now,a W.D.is approaching the sub continent,and should pour some good quantity of rain and snow to bring the winter back in here.I see the rain/snow over Pakistan on tuesday/wednessday,and over N.India by wednessday/thursday.All of North and Central India should get affected by the cold front,and a cold snap expected over North and Central India(including Mah.and Guj.)from Friday thru Sunday.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

This year's winter is markedly mild in Europe,and Moscow.According to the BBC,"Whilst most of the UK and Europe have been experiencing a mild winter so far, the usually cold and snowy city of Moscow in Russia has also experienced a particularly mild winter to date. In fact, the first 2 weeks of January 2007 are being reported as the mildest the Russian capital has seen in 130 years.

January in Moscow is normally the coldest month of the year. However, this year temperatures are averaging above zero whereas it is normally around –9C (16F). On January 11th, the thermometer climbed to 8.6C (47F), some 4C above the previous record set in 1957.

This is in complete contrast to last winter when much of Russia was gripped by a deep freeze with temperatures plummeting to –34C (-29F) during the long winter nights.

The temperature in Moscow on Tuesday hovered within a degree or so of freezing as the milder weather continued, with a few light snow flurries reported. However, Moscow meteorologists are forecasting that the “real Moscow winter” will arrive by late January.
Muscovites are more likely to be seen strolling through the lush green grass still in evidence, which would normally be buried under deep snow and ice.

Along with all the other parts of the world currently experiencing warmer than usual weather, the mild conditions have confused animals and plants in Russia too. Bears are reported not to be hibernating as usual, whilst bulbs have been spotted shooting weeks ahead of schedule."

In India too,the winter has suddenly vanished.While the North had a week or so of some cold below normal weather,the central parts of India and Western India,have yet to experience a cold spell.The temperatures over the country have again shot up to 2-4°c above normal.

I mentioned in my previous blog about Mumbai temperatures shooting up suddenly.Well,the graph illustrates this clearly.And in this diagram,most of the portion in the 30 day period is red,indicating above normal temperatures,and the last 2 days show the suddden jump.
Even in Pune,the 30 day period,in the diagram shows a continuous red area,indicating a non-stop above normal "hot" period.

Maharastra and Gujarat are going through a "no winter"period.The lowest temperatures in the two states has not gone below 9°c this year!Nasik has bearly touched 10°c,and Deesa in Gujarat 8°c.Should and could have gone as low as 2-3°c,in some places by now.In fact,the days have started getting into the low 30s,and Pune today was at 33°c!Experts from these states,please let me have your views on this.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Comet McNaught is a real hit. It's a wonderful sight after sunset.The comet's magnitude is around -3, and its bright and curved tail is easy to see with the naked eye in the snap.
The comet is widely visible from all parts of the Southern Hemisphere.Look at the photo, above: McNaught's dusty tail is curved. Why? Because it traces the comet's curved orbit. The tail curves so much that it actually leads all the way back to the northern hemisphere where it can be seen glowing very faintly in the western sky after sundown.

Amateur astronomer Paul Robinson first spotted it on Jan. 16th from Boulder, Colorado, "The tail is very faint and resembles a pale aurora borealis," he says.


And whats with the Mumbai weather? 13th. to 17th. Jan Mumbai had daywith the temperatures at 27-28°c(1°c below normal),and suddenly on 18th.Jan the day was hot at 34°c!Thats because the north breeze suddenly turned to warm easterlies.
The nights too were a pleasant 15°c in Santacruz on 17th.,and a sudden rise to 20°c the next day.
Fortunately,the easterlies will not last more than a couple of days.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

The comet McNaught,is visible for a few days in the Northern Hemisphere.Last night, "as the comet descended in the west, it turned reddish and seemed to glow very brightly--almost like a spark or ember."
Snap of the comet :
Comet McNaught has continued to brighten as it approaches the sun and it is now the brightest comet in 30 years. For observers in the northern Hemisphere, tonight is probably the best time to see it: One can go outside this evening and face the sunset. A clear view of the western horizon is essential, because the comet hangs very low. As the twilight fades to black, it should become visible to the naked eye. Observers say it's a fantastic sight through binoculars.

In the days ahead, Comet McNaught will pass the sun and emerge in good position for southern hemisphere viewing later this month. Meanwhile, solar heating will continue to puff up the comet, causing it to brighten even more. It could become one of the brightest comets in centuries, visible even in daylit skies.

Visit http://spaceweather.com
for photos and updates.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

North shivers:
Icy winds today blew across North India, which groaned under an intense cold waveduring the last four days.Water taps froze in Kashmir and Rajasthan as the people huddled around bonfires and took recourse to heavy woollens to beat the cold wave sweeping the region.Icy winds lashed Rajasthan throwing normal life in disarray as mercury plunged to freezing point at Churu and Mount Abu, which registered lows of 0°c and Pilani 0.5 °c.Water pipes froze and burst at many places in the desert state where Jaipur, the state capital, reeled at 2.4°c, the lowest this season. Chandigarh was also 0°c,and the Taj city of Agra was the coldest place in U.P. recording a low of 3.2°c followed by Bareilly and Sultanpur (5.2°c).Delhi experienced the coldest day of the season with mercury plunging to a low of 2.6°c, four notches below normal.
In Kashmir valley, Dal Lake, a huge draw for tourists in Srinagar, had begun freezing due to intense cold.
The lake was first frozen completely in early '60s when the minimum temperature dipped to -12°c. The night temperature in Srinagar dipped to -5.6°c as icy winds swept the city this morning.
Water taps in several parts of the city and elsewhere in the valley froze owing to sharply dipping temperatures.
Severe Weather:The Soru river and other ponds in the Kargil district of Ladakh region was frozen as the minimum temperature dipped to-33°c while the maximum was also -10°c in Drass, the second coldest place in the world,and the minimum temperature dipped to -22°c in Kargil. The maximum was also -03°c.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Four days into 2007,and the weather has changed in North India.Cold temperatures have been recorded in all the Northern states since the begining of the year.The lowest temperatures in the last few days were: -9°c Phalgam,Kashmir.-5.6° Kalpa,H.P. -1°c Amritsar,Punjab.1.9°c Churu,Rajasthan. 3.9°c Delhi. 4°c Allahbad,U.P.(None of these are records).

In Pakistan too,the temperatures were low,with -0°c at Islamabad.1°c at Lahore.0°c at Nokkundi.

However,down South,the temperatures have not dropped much.In the last few days,the lowest in Maharashtra was 9°c at Jalgaon,and in Gujarat it was 10°c at Deesa.These states are still to feel the effect of winter.

The next W.D. approaching N.India from 6th.Jan. will see a rise in temperatures,but with some precipitation in the hills,only to see a fall again from 9th.A renewed cold spell is expected in the North from the 9th.,this time maybe spreading southwards into Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Soemthing of context:the coldest palce in the world yesterday was,probably,Ojmjakon (Russia),at -53°c !

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