Munnar records this year’s lowest temperature at 6°C

A view from Mattuppetty near Munnar in Idukki.
| Photo Credit: JOMON PAMPAVALLEY

Winter has begun at Munnar in Idukki, with Chenduvarai Estate recording the lowest temperature in the hill station this year at 6°C on Wednesday morning. The temperature in Munnar on the same day last year was 13°C.

As per data from the United Planters Association of South India, the temperature in Munnar town was at 8°C on Wednesday. The temperatures in Devikulam, Letchmi, and Mattupetty were recorded at 8°C and 9°C in Sivanmalai and Silent Valley.

According to climate experts, the normal winter season in the hill station starts in November, with the first week of January experiencing extreme cold. Normally, frost covers the valleys and hills in the first week of January. But from 2019 onwards, there was a change in the pattern of winter in Munnar.

M.G. Manoj, a scientist at the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, Cochin University of Science & Technology, said that the State experienced three low pressures in a row this month, which delayed the arrival of winter. “If not for the low pressure, the winter season would have begun in Munnar around mid-December. The temperature will further dip in the coming days,” he said.

G. Sojan, coordinator of the My Munnar movement, said the chilly weather is attracting tourists to the hill station. “Almost all hotels and resorts have received bookings until the first week of January,” he said and added that a huge inflow of tourists is expected to the hill station during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

“Every holiday, the hill station experiences hours-long traffic blocks, which negatively impact the tourism sector,” Mr. Sojan said. He said that the authorities should make arrangements to prevent traffic blocks during the upcoming holiday season.

District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) secretary Jitheesh Jose said that tourism destinations in Idukki are expecting a huge inflow of tourists during the Christmas and New Year holidays. “The DTPC has arranged facilities to welcome tourists to all destinations in the district. The tourism stakeholders have informed us that they were receiving inquiries from different parts of the world,” said the official.