Why Telangana sees steep drop in temperatures at night and significant rise in daytime

Due to the Deccan terrain, cold winds flow freely from colder regions to Telangana which does not happen in other States

Hyderabad: The geographical location of Hyderabad and Telangana State on the Deccan plateau, coupled with very low humidity levels, appears to be contributing significantly to the large temperature variations between day and night that continued even on Wednesday.

Experts have termed the ongoing phenomenon of extreme weather between day and night as diurnal variations in temperatures, which are characterised by a steep drop in temperatures at night and a significant rise in daytime. Such weather patterns are a unique characteristic feature for Telangana State, they maintained.

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Head of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)-Hyderabad Dr K Nagaratna said large diurnal temperature variations are observed in Telangana due to its geographical location characterised by the Deccan plateau.

“Deccan plateau is known for rapid cooling at night and heating up during daytime. Due to the Deccan terrain, cold winds flow freely from colder regions to Telangana. This, however, does not happen in other south Indian States or for that matter even in States located in Northern parts of the country. Compared to Hyderabad, temperatures are relatively higher in South India,” says Dr Nagaratna.

Adding his unique perspective, noted weather specialist from Hyderabad, T Balaji, known for his forecasting on X (Telangana Weatherman) believes that such weather events need a lot of observation and analysis.

“This event needs a lot of observation, analysis as significant variations in weather patterns are expected during the next three weeks. On January 21, Hyderabad recorded low humidity of 8 per cent which is the driest day in the last two years. It’s like a desert kind of humidity. Overall extreme weather patterns of massive cold and hot conditions are unfolding in January and perhaps even in February, which needs more analysis,” he said.

Meanwhile, multiple regions in Hyderabad and districts in Telangana experienced severe cold conditions between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Maximum daytime temperatures on Tuesday in Telangana hovered between 33 and 38 degrees Celsius while minimum temperatures recorded by the weather stations of Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS) between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, ranged from 6.9 degrees Celsius to 10 degrees Celsius.

Contrasting Temperatures: Between 8.30 am on Tuesday (Jan 21) and 8.30 am (Jan 22)
• Moinabad: 8.1 degrees C; 38.0 degrees C
• Shabad: 8.4 degrees C; 36.3 degrees C
• Rajendranagar: 9.2 degrees C; 34.8 degrees C
• Moulaali/Uppal: 10.3 degrees C; 35.2 degrees C
• UoH: 10 degrees C; 36 degree sC
• BHEL Factory: 10 degrees C; 34 degrees C
• Kohir (Sangareddy): 6.9 degrees C; 33.4 degrees C
• Marpalle (Vikarabad): 9 degrees C, 36.1 degrees C