CHENNAI: Chennai and Tamil Nadu are grappling with an intensifying heat stress as maximum temperatures are climbing above normal.
As per the temperature forecast by the regional meteorological centre here, there will be a gradual rise in day time temperature by 2°C during next 5 days and maximum temperature is likely to be 2-3 degrees above normal in isolated pockets of Tamil Nadu. Tirupattur recorded the highest temperature in the state at 38.8°C.
This comes amid warnings of an unusually harsh summer ahead. On March 3, maximum temperatures ranged between 34 - 39°C across the plains of North Interior Tamil Nadu, 33-34 degrees in South Interior Tamil Nadu, and 30-35 degrees along the coastal areas, including Chennai, Puducherry and Karaikal.
Nighttime conditions offered little respite, with districts like Dharmapuri (3.8 degrees above normal), Ooty (3.6 C), Coimbatore (3 C), and Chennai (2.2 C) recording unusually high minimum temperatures. Although, on Tuesday, the mercury dropped slightly, the majority of districts continued to record above normal temperatures.
A recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) - Urban Heat Stress Tracker: Chennai - highlights a decadal rise in summertime average ambient air temperature of 0.4°C - from 30.3°C (2001-2010) to 30.7°C (2014-2023) - coupled with a 5% increase in relative humidity.
This combination has driven a 5% rise in Chennai’s Heat Index (HI), with days exceeding the dangerous HI threshold of 41°C tripling since the early 2000s. Last year, March-April temperatures were 1°C hotter than the 2014-2023 average, a trend continuing into 2025.
Experts attribute this escalation to the urban heat island effect, worsened by Chennai’s rapid urban expansion.