MP sees sudden chill; mercury plunges to 8 degrees Celsius in Pachmari

The minimum temperature dropped to 9.4 degrees in Jabalpur and Rajgarh districts, the meteorologist said.Yadav said that MP was seeing chill as northerly winds were blowing into the state.

People in at least a dozen places across Madhya Pradesh scrambled for warm clothes on Friday morning as the mercury plunged below 10 degrees Celsius.

Weather officials described the sudden temperature drop in March as unusual.

Pachmarhi, the lone hill station in the state, in Narmadapuram district and Nowgong in Chhatarpur district recorded a minimum temperature of 8.0 degrees Celsius, VS Yadav, meteorologist with the India Meteorological Department's Bhopal office, told PTI.

The minimum temperatures at Mandla and Malanjkhand in Balaghat district were recorded at 8.3 and 8.5 degrees Celsius, respectively, he added.

State capital Bhopal, which recorded the minimum temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, saw mercury rising to 10.5 degrees on Friday morning. It was after 13 years Bhopal’s minimum temperature dropped to 9.8 degrees in March, he said. The minimum temperature dropped to 9.4 degrees in Jabalpur and Rajgarh districts, the meteorologist said.

Yadav said that MP was seeing chill as northerly winds were blowing into the state. They are bringing in the coolness due to the snowfall in north India, he added.

He said mercury would start climbing as western and eastern winds are expected to blow in the state from Saturday. It will also mark the end of the three-day spell of chill in the state.