CHENNAI: The heat wave troubling Chennai and its neighbouring districts for the past 15 days is likely to subside from this weekend. Meteorological department officials say conditions are becoming favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon in remaining parts of Tamil Nadu in three or four days.
The Nungambakkam weather station on Tuesday recorded 41.4 degree Celsius, which is 4.5 above normal. The Meenambakkam station clocked 42 degrees, 4.6 above normal. This has been the pattern on most days of June, arguably the hottest month in the calendar year.
The Met department has persisted with the heat wave warning over Tiruvallur, Vellore, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Madurai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Tiruchy and Pondicherry. The public are advised not to expose themselves to direct sunlight between 11 am and 4 pm.
Weather blogger Pradeep John said the southwest monsoon was likely to advance into dry regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. “Once the dry belts of Rayalaseema get rains, the intensity of dry winds will come down. We may also experience some sporadic rainfall in coming days,” he said. Between June 1 and 18, Chennai should have received 36.7 mm of rainfall, but received a paltry 0.3 mm of rainfall.
PWD told to furnish details on maintenance of water bodies
Chennai: A division bench of the Madras High Court has directed the State Public Works Department to furnish details about the number of reservoirs in the State, the steps taken for de-silting them and other water-bodies, amount sanctioned, stage of the works and such other related information, to the court. The bench gave the direction when a PIL petition from Vaniyambadi Iyarkai Matrum Neervala Pathukappu Sangam, came up on Tuesday. The PIL prayed for a direction to the authorities to ensure that there are no encroachments whatsoever, in the feeding/supply channel from Palar river to Udayendram lake and that the boundaries of the said channel are maintained as per the original revenue records.