Brace yourself for a chilly Christmas in Ahmedabad

It's time to usher the red and white colours back into your wardrobe, albeit in wool this year!

Given the current cold wave conditions in the state, Ahmedabad is gearing up to face its coldest Christmas in recent years — reason enough for the beverages and cakes to be replaced by hot soups and other warm dishes this time.

The western disturbance-induced cold wave conditions have caused the minimum temperature to drop to as low as 8°C in parts of the state, including Ahmedabad, Deesa and Naliya, on Wednesday.

Temperatures are expected to drop further, and even reach below 8°C, in the city and at various places in the state within the next two days, notes the IMD's weather forecast.

And the major fallout of this climatic trend will be a cooler Christmas, with several city moms having to pick up furry coats and headgear for their little ones - a shopping trend commonly seen around this time in Western countries, but so far an unusual sight in Ahmedabad.

The India Meteorological Centre, Gujarat, issued this season's second low temperature warning on Wednesday. "General north-westerly winds are prevailing over the state and the minimum temperature of Ahmedabad, Deesa and Naliya has dropped to 8.2°C due to the cold wave effects. The minimum temperature in the city was 4 degrees below its usual temperature during this period," says IMD's daily weather report.

No change is forecast to occur within the next two days, and with the low temperature warning, cold wave conditions will prevail in parts of north Gujarat during the next 48 hours.