Maximum temperature in the city has risen by about 2 degrees Celsius to 2.5 degrees Celsius over a period of 30 years.
The rise has been established by the Indian Meteorological Department's comparative data for two spells of 30 years each.
While the mean temperature for the 30 years from 1950 to 1980 in the first and second weeks of April was 32 degrees Celsius, from 1971 to 2000, it was 35 degrees Celsius. For May, it went up from 34 degrees Celsius to 36 degrees Celsius and even touched 37. For the first week of June it shot up from 34 degrees to 37 degrees and in the second week, it showed slightly downward trend by increasing by one degree to 35. By the end of June, it was 34 degrees against 33 in the first 30 years.
“The increase has been more due to urbanisation and climate parameters are changing. When it came to Kalingapatnam, a rural area in Srikakulam district, the increase was not that significant. There it was a maximum of one degree,” director of the Cyclone Warning Centre V.L. Prasada Rao told The Hindu .
Workshop
At a workshop on climate change organised by the GVMC last month, an expert said in the last 100 years maximum temperature rose by 0.6 degrees C on the East Coast and minimum by 0.2 degrees C. The rise in the city is in sharp contrast to the one on the East Coast.
The rise of temperature is, however, part of the phenomenon in the country and, global warming. The IMD data show that the increase of temperatures across the country occurred between 1998 and 2010 and 2010 was the hottest year since 1901. Not only that. The 10 hottest years were also recorded during that period. The mean temperature for 2010 rose by 0.93 degrees above the 1961-1990 average. The increase was between 0.4 degrees in 2005 to 0.92 degrees in 2009. In the interregnum the rise ranged from 0.43 degrees (2001) to 0.71 (2002) though not in chronological order.
The increase in maximum temperatures means a corresponding rise in average and subsequently normal temperatures.
Climate change experts also forecast less of long spells of rain but heavy rain in short a span leading to flooding etc.
However, Mr. Prasada Rao says there has not been a corresponding, major variation in rainfall. For instance, between June and September this season, Waltair received 678.5 mm against the normal of 741 mm and Airport recorded 796.7 mm (normal 733.2 mm).
