Mercurial weather: Chennai colder by 4 degrees; Madurai hotter by 5 degrees
From Dec 20, the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be further reduced by 1-2 degrees than normal in the city and suburbs, said RMC
Visual from Chennai Rains (File)
CHENNAI: If the city has felt unusually cold in the last 2-3 days, you’re not imagining it! Cloudy skies and moderate rainfall in Chennai have brought down the maximum temperature by almost 4-degree Celsius.
From the normal 29.1-degree Celsius on Wednesday morning, the city was shivering at 25.3 degrees – a drop by 3.8 degrees.
Weather officials stated that the temperature might drop further from December 20 because of a change in wind flow pattern. The low-pressure area over the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a well-marked low-pressure area over the same region on Wednesday. It is likely to move nearly northwestwards towards north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast during the next 24 hours.
Under its influence, many parts of Chennai and neighbouring districts saw light to moderate rains on Wednesday and are likely to continue for the next 24 hours. However, if the current weather system moves above Tamil Nadu, the rainfall activity is likely to reduce.
It was cold in the early morning hours on Wednesday, which led to a drop in the maximum temperature. The city recorded 25-degree Celsius during the day due to the northerly wind with cloudy skies.
“The drop in temperature is not abnormal. From tomorrow (December 20), the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be further reduced by 1-2 degrees than normal in the city and suburbs,” said P Senthamarai Kannan, director, Area Cyclone Centre, RMC.
For the next 48 hours, the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 26-27 degrees and 23-24 degrees respectively at Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam weather stations. The city might receive light to moderate rain in some areas in the coming days.
As a contrast to the shivery cold weather in the city, Madurai recorded the sharpest spike in temperature by around 5 degrees. From its normal 30 degrees, it became hotter by 35 degrees on Wednesday. Karur Paramathi took the second place with mercury shooting to 33.5 degrees from its usual 28.8 degrees (4.7-degree high). It was warmer in Coimbatore with the maximum temperature higher by 3.8 degrees (from 29.2 degrees to 33 degrees). A similar situation prevailed in Erode when the temperature rose by 3.5 degrees from 31 degrees to 35 degrees.