South at present is blue (3)
I believe the answer is:
sad
'is blue' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'south at present' is the wordplay.
'south' becomes 'S' (abbreviation).
'at' says to put letters next to each other.
'present' becomes 'ad' (AD, Anno Domini, as opposed to BC, Before Christ).
's'+'ad'='SAD'
(Other definitions for sad that I've seen before include "Melancholy, downhearted" , "Disconsolate" , "Effect of winter darkness" , "Unfortunate" , "Downcast" .)