The year 2023 recorded extreme June temperatures across many Indian cities. Chennai and Chandigarh witnessed the lowest-ever maximum temperatures recorded on a June day in the last seven decades, while Thiruvananthapuram recorded its hottest June day in the same period.
Chart | The chart shows the maximum temperatures recorded on a June day between June 1, 1952, and June 25, 2023. Each dot corresponds to the maximum temperature recorded on a June day. The June days of 2023 are highlighted. Only select cities with complete data are listed.
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Chennai experienced its lowest-ever maximum temperature for June (28.2°C) on June 19, the day it received copious amounts of rainfall. According to data sourced from AWS-ARG networks, the Nungambakkam station in Chennai recorded a little over 80 mm of rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on June 19 and more than 50 mm in the next 24 hours. The city was experiencing a heat wave till then, with temperatures soaring to 42.7°C on June 3 — the third highest maximum temperature for the city on a June day. Following heavy rainfall, a rarity in June for the city, Chennai cooled down rapidly to record the lowest-ever maximum temperature.
Bengaluru, Jaipur, Delhi, and Dehradun also recorded many of their lowest maximum temperature readings for June 2023. The relatively cooler maximum temperatures of 30.7°C and 31.4°C in Jaipur on June 18 and 19 can be attributed to the aftermath of Cyclone Biparjoy. On Sunday, Jaipur recorded its third-lowest maximum temperature of 30.6°C.
The south-west monsoon rainfall on Sunday in Delhi (34.1 mm) and Dehradun (76.3 mm) brought the temperatures down to some of the lowest they have experienced in June as well. Delhi recorded the second-lowest maximum temperature of 28.5°C and Dehradun recorded a temperature of 22.8°C (third-lowest). Chandigarh’s maximum temperature dropped down to a record low of 26.3°C.
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In contrast, two weeks ago, Thiruvananthapuram saw its hottest June day, with a maximum temperature of 34.5°C recorded on June 15. On June 2, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 34.4°C, the second hottest day in seven decades. The maximum temperature in the city has crossed the 30°C mark on all the days of June till now, a rarity.
Panaji, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Amaravati, and Mumbai too had some of their warmest-ever June days earlier this month. However, despite hundreds of heat wave deaths in the eastern and central States this June, maximum temperatures in Lucknow and Ranchi, were not record high, with the exception of Patna, which went up to 42.4°C on June 7 — the highest in the past decade. Andhra Pradesh’s capital Amaravati too recorded a relatively hot June with the temperature on most days surpassing the 38°C mark.
The conclusions are based on the India Meteorological Department’s gridded maximum temperature database. The data is based on 550 measuring stations which record the daily surface air temperature. The temperature measurements presented in the gridded database are the weighted average of four to 10 nearest measuring stations at any chosen point. For instance, usually, the maximum temperature recorded in the Nungambakkam station is presented as Chennai’s figures. But in the gridded database, the average temperature of stations nearest to Chennai is considered. The number of stations considered nearest to a city will differ based on the availability of surface observatories in its proximity.
vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in
Source: The charts are based on data collated using the IMDLIB python library which scrapes weather data from the India Meteorological Department. The library was developed for lwcc.in by Saswata Nandi, Pratiman Patel & Sabyasachi Swain.
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