Chennai: For the next one week, the absence of rainfall over Kerala may keep daytime temperatures in the city a degree or two above normal, with occasional and isolated evening thunderstorms.V R Durai, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, India Meteorological Department, said interior districts are recording daytime temperatures 2°C to 4°C degrees above normal. He attributed this to the absence of clouds that usually move from west to east when it rains over Kerala. But with the southwest monsoon weak over Kerala, skies have remained largely clear, allowing more sunlight to heat up the land.“Daytime temperatures in the state may remain elevated for the next week. City temperatures may rise too,” he said. “An offshore trough may trigger thunderstorms in Chennai,” he said. An offshore trough is a zone of relatively low pressure, along or close to the coast, that can help winds converge and air rise, favouring thunderstorms.On Thursday, temperatures in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam were 34.3°C and 33.8°C, around 0.1°C and 0.6°C below normal, respectively. For Friday, IMD has forecast a maximum of 35°C and a minimum of 26°C. Light to moderate rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, is possible in some areas in the evening and night.Meanwhile, a low-pressure area is likely to form over northern Bay of Bengal. “Since the system is over the sea, it may draw moisture locally and intensify there, rather than pulling moisture from the south. So, it may not contribute to higher temperatures over Tamil Nadu,” Durai said.
