Chennai: While Chennaiites are worried of dog days hitting the city earlier than usual, weathermen say that temperature levels are more or less near normal, it is the mindset of people that has changed.
“It all depends on how a person feels, especially when temperatures move from cool to warm,” said a Met official. However, in the last five days, due to high moisture levels, the city’s minimum temperature has been two to three degrees Celsius more than normal.
“The rise in night temperature is due to clouding. It traps the radiation and doesn’t allow cooling of the land. But this is a local phenomenon and has nothing to do with climate change,” said Indian Meteorological Department’s lead long-range forecaster Dr D. S. Pai.
He said that the increase in construction activities, development of high rise buildings and cutting of trees in Chennai has led to trapping of radiation in that area, thereby moving up minimum temperature levels. He added that the dress factor also contributes to people feeling hotter.
G. Vaidyanathan, a retired meteorologist in Chennai, said that it was normal for the city to experience a rise in temperature from the middle of January, as the sun moves from the south to the north.
“But to say that people are feeling hotter now is an exaggeration. It is more to do with their psychological feelings, especially when the season changes from winter to summer,” he added. Tamil Nadu Agriculture University’s Climate Research Centre Prof V. Geethalakshmi said that the failure of the northeast monsoon has added to the woes of people.
