Colombo shivers

Disna MUDALIGE

A low temperature of 18.2 Celsius degrees was recorded in Colombo yesterday morning, Meteorology Department duty forecaster P G Yasaratne told the Daily News. He observed that the temperature recorded in many parts of the island yesterday morning was below the usual temperature of those areas during this month.

He said that there had been only few records in the past where the temperature in Colombo had dropped less than 19 Celsius degrees.

The lowest temperature recorded in Colombo was 17.3 Celsius degrees. This was in 1920. Yasaratne said the temperature in the island is usually low in December and January than the other months, and added the dry wind from Northern India with the cyclonic conditions prevailing in the Bay of Bengal had been the reason for the low temperature. He said that the temperature showed a two to four Celsius degrees drop in most parts of the island yesterday.

He noted that the minimum temperature in Badulla dropped to 10.8 Celsius degrees yesterday from 17.2 Celsius degrees on Tuesday, while the minimum temperature in Batticaloa had dropped to 19.5 Celsius degrees from 23 Celsius degrees.