Chennai rains: From nearly 6° C below normal on Oct 16 to ‘feels like 39° C’ a day later, city back to 'normal'
Most rain gauges across the city that are monitored by the Greater Chennai Corporation recorded more than 150 mm rainfall on that day, some even more than 200 mm.
Online Desk
Representative Image (File Photo)
CHENNAI: The extremely heavy rains on October 15 not only disrupted life and filled waterbodies, it also brought down the maximum temperature in Chennai substantially – by as much as 6-7° Celsius on that day and the next. But on Thursday, two days since the torrential Tuesday, things were back to ‘normal’ in the city, with the ‘feels like’ heat hovering around 40° C!
Tuesday was the day when the city and its neighbourhood faced the fury of the depression that formed in the Bay of Bengal. Most rain gauges across the city that are monitored by the Greater Chennai Corporation recorded more than 150 mm rainfall on that day, some even more than 200 mm.
This brought down the maximum temperature, too. According to the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, the maximum temperature recorded on that day at Nungambakkam weather station was 26.4° Celsius, while the normal was 32.9° Celsius – a whopping fall of 6.5° Celsius.
It was even more pronounced in the case of Meenambakkam where the maximum temperature was 26.2° Celsius as against the normal of 32.9° Celsius, which works out to a drop of 6.7° Celsius.
The next day, October 16, the day of the red alert, was similar. Though it did not rain even a trace, the weather remained pleasant at 27.1° Celsius at Nungambakkam and 27.8° Celsius at Meenambakkam, which was less than normal by 5.8° Celsius and 5.1° Celsius, respectively.
However, just like the rain, the pleasant climate was fleeting. On Thursday, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam weather stations recorded 32.5° Celsius and 33.6° Celsius, respectively. This was above the normal maximum temperature, though marginally.
During the day, however, the ‘feels like’ temperature, which reveals how it actually feels, was around 39° Celsius. That is the temperature that is all too familiar for the city. And it is likely to continue on Friday, too, with the weathermen predicting that the maximum temperature would be around 33-34° Celsius.
