Thiruvananthapuram: 2018 is most likely to be the warmest year for Kerala. “Every year the temperature has been rising, if you look at data over the last decade. For example, the maximum temperature in Kozhikode was 34.5ºC in 2008. It became 38.6ºC in 2016. This year, the summer will be warmer than that of 2016,” says IMD director S. Sudevan.
In 2016, the severity of summer was such that, the state government wanted it to be declared as drought here. But this year, temperature in the northern districts has hit a high in February itself. Palakkad has recorded a temperature of 40 degrees celsius. Over the next week, Kozhikode will have a temperature that is as high as 36ºC, according to IMD data.
The India Meteorological Department and the Ministry of Earth Sciences have issued a press release predicting warmer temperatures in all meteorological subdivisions of the country during the pre-monsoon season (March to May). While Kerala might not have as high a temperature as compared to the subdivisions from north-west and central India, the temperature is going to be higher. There could even be heat waves in some pockets.
As per the IMD press release on the seasonal outlook for the temperatures during March to May 2018, the maximum temperature anomaly forecast for Kerala is likely to be warmer than normal by 0.37 degrees celsius, while the minimum temperature anomaly forecast is warmer by 0.74 degrees celsius.
