NILGIRIS: Less than five months after the temperature in Ooty fell to 0°Celsius in December, the popular tourist destination recorded a high of 29°Celsius, the hottest the hill station has been in 73 years, on Sunday and Monday. Tourists, however, remain undeterred by the heat as officials prepare for more people to visit the traditional summer holiday retreat in the coming days.
“This temperature rise is not limited to Ooty, or even Tamil Nadu. Such an increase is being witnessed across the country,” S Balachandran of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai told TNIE. On Monday, Erode recorded the highest temperature in TN of 42.6°Celsius, followed by Tirupattur with 42°Celsius. Tirupattur also recorded a temperature deviation of 4.2°Celsius. Other districts that recorded high temperatures include Salem (41.6°Celsius), Vellore (41.5°Celsius) and Karur Paramathi (41°Celsius).
Balachandran noted that the temperature spike has occurred right as the El Nino phase is coming to a close. “The overall rise in temperature across TN clearly signals the importance of protecting the environment by planting more trees and preventing deforestation,” he opined.
‘Hotter days due to climate change’
Even as tourists continue to throng Ooty, workers, plantation and agricultural labourers, are among the worst affected by the unusual heat. V Sivadas from the Nilgiris Environment Social Trust, said these days umbrellas are a common sight in the region, used by tourists and locals alike to escape the scorching heat.
“Since tender coconut water is quite costly in Ooty, we have been advising people to drink barley, sabja or thulasi water instead, and to eat pears,” he said.
‘Poovulagu’ Sundarrajan, founder of Poovulagin Nanbargal and a governing council member of the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission, told TNIE that it is time Ooty residents and the rest of Tamil Nadu begin adapting to the new weather conditions by following the heatwave instructions which were issued by the health department carefully, in order to prevent sickness and death.
“The rise in temperature is due to climate change. We appeal to the state and central government to examine human deaths in the summer months and declare the number of heat stroke deaths by examining autopsy reports,” Sundarrajan said.
E-pass for Nilgiris
Chennai: Madras High Court on Monday ordered TN government to introduce an E-pass system for tourist vehicles heading to Nilgiris and Kodaikanal during summer to regulate traffic in the region.