THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Punalur in east Kollam remained the hottest place in the country for seven out of eight days until Tuesday, with the mercury level there soaring past 36 degrees Celsius, the highest in the records of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
On Tuesday, maximum temperature in Punalur was 36.8 degrees Celsius. Meerut in Uttar Pradesh was the coldest with a minimum temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius on the day.
Except for one day when it ceded the top spot to Ananthapur in Andhra Pradesh, Punalur held the record of having the highest temperature for over a week. Generally, Punalur and Palakkad, lying close to the gaps in the Western Ghats, consistently recorded high temperatures.
However, this time, the maximum temperature in Palakkad was around 33.5 degrees Celsius.
Weather experts attribute high temperatures in Punalur and Palakkad to dry air flowing in from neighbouring Tamil Nadu passing through the gaps.
During summer, temperatures in these regions exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Interestingly, Punalur topped the list with high temperatures even though elevated temperatures were reported from almost all districts.
Experts are also not entirely convinced with the IMD’s list.
As per the records of automatic weather stations (AWS), Choondi in Ernakulam recorded a maximum temperature of 38.7 degrees Celsius. Though at least 17 AWSs recorded higher temperatures than Punalur, IMD officially considers data from only 12 stations.
Santhosh K, the IMD director in Thiruvananthapuram, did not respond to TNIE’s calls for comments.