Shillong experiences less chilly weather this winter

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT!

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, Dec 27: The global climate change impact in Shillong is evident from the temperature that refused to go down below 5 degrees celsius this year.  Usually, during this period, the temperature hovers around 10-12 degrees as the maximum and 1-2 degrees and sub zero as the minimum.

However, the trend as recorded by the MET office shows that the maximum stills float around 15 to 16 degrees during the day and plummet to around 5 –6 degrees celsius at night. Shillongites complements to the ambience that Shillong winter is not chilled as before.

“The winter days with warm sunshine and less chilly nights is a new occurrence for us,” said a group of elders at Polo.

“Shillong is cold but not as it was eralier,” said a resident of Assam, who came here to enjoy Christmas festivity, adding he is missing frost on the roof tops and lawns. Professor Abijit Mitra, a Marine Scientist of Kolkata University, who is in Shillong, told this correspondent, ‘a change has taken place.  I realized it on the basis of my interaction with a mere driver of tourist taxi.”

“The taxi driver who ferried me in my last visit, this time discouraged me to visit Cherrapunjee (Sohra) because there is no rain to adorn the beautiful falls,” Mitra said, while exhorting on the stakeholders to take note on the climatic changes and its impact.

Not only Shillong, even the highest reaches popularly known as Upper Shillong, which houses the Indian Air Force (IAF) Eastern Command Headquarters and the Directorate General of Assam Rifles (DGAR), have similar experiences.

Sources within the two armed formations said that the differences of Shillong and upper Shillong is usually by 5 degrees celsius and it seems that the gap has rrowed down. “I cannot commence on the reason but these are factual data compiled so far,” stated a source on condition of anonymity. In places like Mylliem, Laitlyngkot and its adjacent areas where local residents and tourist alike rushed to enjoy the sights of the thick frost covering, so far the normal thick frost has not live up to the expectations. “The frost is not as thick as before this time,” says B Mylliemngap, a local resident.