CHENNAI: Summer is well and truly here. On Friday, the city recorded the hottest day this year, breaching the 360 Celsius mark. The Nungambakkam weather station recorded 36.60 Celsius, while the suburbans were much hotter with mercury rising close to 390 Celsius. Experts claimed the change of wind from easterlies to dry westerlies has caused the spike in temperature.
Y E A Raj, former deputy-general of meteorology, told Express that this was the transition period. Usually, in the second half of April, the dry westerly winds start to set in. “Till April 15, we were getting, by and large, easterly winds which kept the temperature under check. Now, the transition is taking place and the temperature is expected to peak on occasions, not daily. It depends what type of winds we receive in morning,” he said.
Chennaiites are usually saved by the sea breeze, which neutralises the heat. But, on Friday, there was no proper sea breeze. The city live weather page of Regional Meteorological Centre showed that even at 9 pm, the temperature was 31 degree Celsius with 82% humidity. Weather blogger Pradeep John said the strong off-shore winds blocked the sea breeze. The temperature is expected to range between 35 and 36.5 degree in the coming days. Meanwhile, three stations in State have crossed 40-degree mark. The usual suspect Karur Paramathi sizzled at 41.2 degree, followed by Vellore at 41.1 degree and Tiruttani 41 degree.