The soaring temperature level threatening city residents with blistering heat suddenly dipped to 35 degree Celsius on Saturday, a day after ‘ kathiri ’ period ended. The cool change is here to stay for the weekend.
On Saturday, a ride on city roads without any tree cover during morning hours turned out to be bearable for people as the weather felt more like a July day. With the peak summer drawing to a close, the weather observatories in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam recorded 35.1 degree Celsius and 35.7 degree Celsius, three degrees below normal for the month.
The sudden dip in mercury level was possible as winds changed direction. South-easterly winds from the ocean blowing onto the land have cooled down the city. S.P.Thampi, deputy director general of meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, said: “Until a few days ago, city was experiencing north-westerly and south-westerly winds that blew from the land to sea. We are also expecting southwest monsoon to set in Kerala in two or three days. This could keep the temperature under control. But, a weak monsoon activity may mean hotter days till mid-June.”
Residents escaped from the blazing heat on many days of the month. This was among the coolest May in the past decade with only five hot days when the temperature peaked beyond 40-degree-mark. In 2012, Chennai had 11 hot days in May.
Officials of the Meteorological department said rains and presence of upper air circulation in Andaman and Comorin area kept the heat away from Chennai on several days. This year, the day temperature peaked to 42.4 degree Celsius in city on May 26. Chennai sizzled on May 31 in 2003 when the mercury level touched an all-time high of 45 degree Celsius. Weather blogger Pradeep John noted that the average maximum temperature experienced this May was 36.6 degree Celsius, making it one of the coolest summers this decade.
