CHENNAI: The city recorded the highest temperature in the State with 41.8 degree Celsius on Saturday. The Met Department pointed out that the high temperature will continue at least till mid June.
“The peak of summer in the city is between May 15 and June 15, so the high temperature will continue in the coming days with just minor variations,” said S B Thambi, Deputy Director of Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.
He pointed out that before the onset of the South West monsoon, the interior areas would be hotter than coastal areas like Chennai, but that pattern gets reversed once the South West monsoon begins. “After the onset of monsoons in Kerala, the effect of the rains on the Western Ghats will bring in slight cooling in the interior parts of the State,” he said.
Meanwhile, the strong movement of the winds from the Arabian Sea towards North will affect the air movement in cities like Chennai, weakening the sea breeze and thereby raising the temperature.
The temperature in the city, which has been on the rise since the beginning of June, hit the highest that has been recorded in the month on Saturday.
The maximum temperature recorded at the Nungambakkam weather station increased from 38.6 degree Celsius on Wednesday to 39.8 degree Celsius on Thursday, crossing 40 degree Celsius on Friday to peak at 41.8 degree Celsius on Saturday. This is the highest temperature to be noted this month. The humidity, meanwhile, has been hovering between 77-79 per cent.
Chennai was followed by Nagapattinam which recorded 39.9 degree Celsius. The lowest maximum temperature was noted at Kodaikanal at 21.6 degree Celsius and Coonoor at 24 degree Celsius. The Met department has forecast the maximum and minimum temperature to be around 41 and 30 degree Celsius respectively on Sunday.
The department has also forecast rains in certain districts including Coimbatore, Erode, Karur, Krishnagiri, Namakkal, Nilgiris, Salem, Theni, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Vellore and Virudhunagar.
Saturday in fact was the second hottest June day in Chennai within a decade. On June 3, 2012, the mercury had hit 42.4 degree Celsius – the highest recorded temperature in June between 2004 and 2014. On June 18, 2005, the peak temperature was a tad less at 41.6 degree Celsius. As just one week of this month is over, there is no getting away from the sizzler, so take abundant precaution while venturing out in the sun.
Just to get a sense of how hot it could get in a worst case scenario, here is another piece of data: The all time record peak temperature for June in Chennai was 43.3 degree Celsius on June 3, 1948.