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What to expect in MAY 2005

Statistics

	Average temperature 28.1 C Average rainfall 158.4 mm Cloud cover 6.6/10 Humidity 71 % Rainy days 15.3 Sunshine 266 hrs.

Is the weather becoming more freaky every year, or has it always been this way - pretty unpredictable?

The end of 2002 was off the graph entirely - more rain falling in the Northern Capital in November and December than at any time since records began fifty years ago. And not just by a small amount. What we had was as much in the 11th month as in August or September, the heart of the monsoon season, and in December it was way up there with the earlier monsoon months. Since the end of last year and the beginning of this, on the other hand, there has been an almost total failure of the rains, hardly any falling between November and April, water levels dropping drastically. The critical question now is, ‘How will the monsoon - which begins this month - be?’ And your met man’s crystal ball is decidedly misty where the coming year is concerned.

So May, now: how should it be, if the weather follows its normal patterns?

One of the two hottest months, though half a degree down on the April average, the fifth month is likely to provide an increase in the number of rainy days, fifteen against April’s six or so, most of the falls coming from scattered thunderstorms. And with the storms come higher winds, of course. Given this weather, visibility improves dramatically. Great views from the tops of the mountains. Humidity’s up to 71% or so, though that’s not as high as it’s going to be in the months that follow. Down here on the plain you certainly shouldn’t need a jacket any time of the day or night, but a folding brolly is worth carrying round. Up in the hills though rainstorms can be heavy and the temperature can go down drastically for short spells, so either an umbrella or a cape, and a light jacket or sweater are worth having along. And don’t forget your mosquito repellent! There’re some nasty varieties of malaria in them thar hills. Not to mention dengue fever. The way not to catch the former is to sleep under a net. And during the day you should keep covered up and properly doused with repellent if you’re anywhere where there are lots of mosquitoes, since haemorrhagic fever - transmitted by day-time mosquitoes - is one of the things you really don’t want to have bothering you.