Cold wave grips AP, K'taka as 7 dead; coldest in 100 years

Hyderabad/Bangalore, Jan 18: With the death toll in Northern India due to the winter chill continuing, in a rarity the shudder is spreading to South India as well. The cold wave have spelt disaster with as many as 7 people dead in Andhra Pradesh alone. Neighbouring Karnataka was also severely impacted with the state breaking century-old temperature records in several places.

Four elderly persons died due to the chilly waves that swept across coastal and north Telangana districts. The 4 people are from Gudipudi village near Sattenapalle in Guntur district. Two women also died in Bapatla and Visakhapatnam.

In Karnataka, the already chilly weather took a turn for the worse with Madikeri registering its lowest temperature in 132 years on Monday. The minimum temperature on Monday was 4.8 degrees Celsius.

The same was felt in Mysore, with the place recording the coldest day in the last 120 years, while Bangalore recorded its coldest day with temperature touching 12 degrees Celsius, the coldest in 19 years.

Meteorologists consider the drop in temperatures in North India is the reason for temperature going down by 7-9 degrees. Director, in-charge, Bangalore Met department, B Puttanna said ,"The severe cold wave from the north and north-east combined with clear skies, has brought down minimum temperatures across the state."

In Andhra Pradesh, the weather department confirmed that the cold wave would continue for the next 24 hours. With Adilabad recording temperature of 3.7 degrees, this was the lowest in the last 10 years. Only last week the temperature here was as high as 15 degrees Celsius.

The cold wave impacted the elderly and the children most, with the condition spelling more trouble for those suffering from asthma.

OneIndia News