CHENNAI: As North India shivered in the prevailing biting cold, a village deep down south saw the mercury drop below 0°C. Thalaikundha village in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu reported a minimum temperature of 0°C on Sunday.
The freezing cold in the village, situated in the upper reaches of Tamil Nadu, sent the locals, unaccustomed to such extremely low temperatures, scrambling for the warmer indoors while throwing life out of gear. Battling bitter cold, the locals were mostly confined indoors, according to sources.
One of the most prominent hill stations in South India, Ooty recorded a minimum temperature of 7.5 degrees Celsius. Large patches of grasslands in the Nilgiris district appeared something akin to a wonderland, with fresh dew drops, often called white frost, carpeting the green grass.
The white frost was noticed across several areas of the popular hill station, including Ooty Nagar, Thalikunda, HPF, Kanthal and Fingerpost. Up to an inch of snow was found on parked vehicles, with residents complaining of experiencing problems trying to fire up their cars.
According to local MeT officials, there has been significant variation in the day and night temperatures in recent weeks, with the maximum temperature hovering over 25 degrees Celsius.