The city recorded the second hottest day since 1888 on Wednesday with the mercury touching 43.1 degrees Celsius.
The day’s maximum temperature for Tiruchi, which was 4.7 degree Celsius above normal, came very close to the all-time record of 43.3 degrees Celsius registered on May 2, 1896, as per the data on extreme weather events listed on the website of Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai.
“As per the data available from 1888, this the second highest maximum temperature for the city,” an official at the RMC told The Hindu.
Over the past couple of decades May 18, 2013, has been the hottest day in Tiruchi when the temperature touched 42.9 degrees Celsius. The mercury crossed the 42 degrees Celsius mark during the month in 2017, 2019 and 2020 too.
May is usually the hottest month for the city and the last few days have been real dog days. City residents have been wilting this summer as the maximum temperature crossed 40 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal, on several days in April this year.
The dry spell following the monsoon failure last year has left residents scurrying for cover. Many residents are staying indoors in the afternoons as evident from the thin traffic on the roads.
The maximum temperature in some of the neighbouring districts such as Karur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Ariyalur and Pudukottai has also been hovering over 40 degrees Celsius over the past few days. On Wednesday, even the coastal belt of Nagapattinam recorded 39 degrees Celsius.
The forecast by the weatherman remains grim with heat wave conditions being predicted over the next few days . The maximum temperature in the region is expected to be three to five degree Celsius above normal till May 5.
