Chennai: Chennaiites on Friday woke up to mist, a rare condition in Chennai during the first week of March. Morning walkers who noticed mist in parts of South and Central Chennai were seen using winter wear to cover their heads.
But the weather office maintained that the temperatures in Chennai were within the regular temperature readings.
On the other hand tiger reserves in western Tamil Nadu have started showing signs of summer with the water inflow into lakes dwindling since last week.
“When I went to pick my son after his football practice, I noticed his boot was completely wet due to the morning dew and this is some thing rare during the month of March but the again the sun was shining brightly within hours”, said K. .
Admitting that the temperature will be harsh for Chennaiites in the coming months due to bright sunshine, former deputy director general of meteorology Y. E. A. Raj said that the summer in Chennai will be at its peak during the last week of April and will continue till May. This has been trend all these years and it is the urbanization that makes us feel more discomfort.
The real feel of temperature is harsh in urban areas when compared to rural areas and detailed weather studies are now being taken up to study the recent weather pattern of Tamil Nadu and the studies are expected to be over by the end of this year, the retired weather expert said.
Meanwhile the infow into major dams like Amaravati, Bhavani sagar and Chinna Kallar has reduced drastically according to the TN foresters. “The last week of February saw poor inflow and this trend continues and there are also visible signs of grass drying up in core jungle areas and this may force the elephants and gaurs to raid crops in the nearby areas”, said a forest officer serving in Nilgiri north division.
Temperature to rise in the state this week
The seasonal forecast, released by the India Meteorological Department recently, projects higher than normal temperature across India with an increase of 0.5 degrees Celsius than normal in the seasonal average maximum temperature over Tamil Nadu.
The weather forecast projects higher temperature than normal from March to May as the temperature drift continued from last week and the temperatures have already crossed 32 degrees Celsius. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to remain around 33 degree Celsius and 23 degree Celsius on an average, for the next one week, it said.
“In Chennai, the temperature drift of around one degree Celsius is being witnessed in the day temperatures, while a 0.5 degree Celsius temperature rise is seen in night temperatures. Though we cannot expect extreme of temperatures immediately, the summer can be slightly hotter than normal for the next three months in Tamil Nadu,” said S. Balachandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre.
However, the southern peninsula is expected to receive slight rainfall in the coming days with average rainfall. Weather blogger K. Srikanth says that interior areas are expected to witness high temperatures by next week.
“Northeast districts of Tamil Nadu including Krishnagiri, Salem, Madurai and Dharmapuri have already seen a spike and temperatures can reach as high as 37 degree Celsius. Coastal areas will be comparatively normal,” he said.
