The first specks of ground frost this year, though extremely delayed, arrived in the Nilgiris early on Sunday morning.
Delighting tourists who visited the Government Botanical Garden (GBG), the ground frost carpeted parts of the Nilgiris, especially exposed beds of grass in Khadal and the Ooty Race Course.
Over the years, the onset of the ground frost in the district has been delayed till the end of November and early December. Usually, it sets in by the middle of November.
According to restoration ecologist Godwin Vasanth Bosco, the delayed onset could prove to have a negative impact on the ecology of the Nilgiris, as it could allow for invasive species to have a better chance of surviving the extreme cold during winter.
He further said the continuous rain in the Nilgiris, till December, could also negatively affect the flowering of rare trees such as Rhododendrons. “The flowers can wilt due to rain and the flowering cycle can be shortened,” said Mr. Bosco.
Over the years, the Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC), which has been maintaining records of intensity of ground frost in the Nilgiris since 1968, has reported that the number of frost days as well as the intensity of frost has reduced over the decades. “Climate change could be leading to a global increase in temperature, resulting in more evaporation and precipitation and consequently, more rain, delaying the onset of ground frost,” a scientist from the IISWC said.
According to officials from the Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops in the Nilgiris, the temperature at the GBG dropped to 7.3 degrees Celsius early on Sunday, and just a few degrees above freezing in other parts of the town, including Khandal, the Ooty Race Course and Thalakundah.
Ground frost usually persists in the Nilgiris till the end of January.
