People of the port city had been closely watching the path of the extremely severe cyclonic storm, Fani (pronounced as Foni), before it made landfall at Puri in Odisha and later moved towards Bangladesh.
Hopes dashed
Their curiosity was not without reasons.
Firstly, they feared Fani would wreak havoc as Hudhud did in October 2014. Secondly, they were hoping that the cyclonic system would bring copious rains, fill up the sources of drinking water, replenish the plummeting groundwater table, and, last but not the least, provide respite from oppressive heat, at least for a few days.
Though people were happy that Fani was not destructive, their hopes of good rainfall were dashed. The city received less than 1% rainfall.
And, in what can be considered as a double whammy, the people are now in store of a torrid time.
“With no rains, people will have to brace for an increase in heat,” says S.S.V.S. Ramakrishna, a professor in the Department of Oceanography and Meteorology, Andhra University.
“The cyclonic system has sucked the moisture in atmosphere, and this will lead to a rise in temperature. The mercury may increase by at least 3 to 4 degree Celsius in the next couple of days,” Prof. Ramakrishna says.
“Cloudy sky brought down the temperatures for a couple of days. With the sky now clear, a marginal increase in heat will have an impact on the people,” he observes.
Humidity level up
“With no cloud cover, solar radiation is bound to increase. Humidity level will also rise. We crossed the 80% mark on Saturday (the normal range is 60 to 70%), and due to this the temperature may touch 40 degree Celsius in the next few days,” says O.S.R.U. Bhanu Kumar, emeritus professor in the department.
Moreover, whenever a tropical storm hits the coast, the system brings in some latent heat with it, and this will add up to the daily temperature, he adds.
“Mercury will shoot up not just in Visakhapatnam but in places such as East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and the Rayalaseema region,” the experts say.
“The temperatures may hover over 40 to 43 degree Celsius in Guntur, Krishna and the Rayalaseema area,” observes Prof. Bhanu Kumar.
“Vizag may not experience heatwave conditions, which is 5 to 7 degree above normal. It, however, can expect a 3 to 4 degree increase in temperature. Other areas in the State will experience heatwave conditions,” says Prof. Ramakrishna.
