Apr 30, 2024 08:36 AM IST
Ooty records highest-ever temperature of 29°C, 5.4 degrees above average. Trend to continue for a day or two, attributed to local factors and heatwave conditions in India.
Ooty in Tamil Nadu has recorded its highest-ever temperature of 29 degrees Celsius on April 28, said director of regional meteorological centre (RMC) Chennai, S Balachandran. This is 5.4 degrees above the average temperature for Ooty in Nilgiris district. The previous all-time record was on April 29 in 1986 where it was 28.5 degrees Celsius, RMC said.
“This is the all-time high temperature recorded in Ooty. This trend will continue for another day or two,” Balachandran said. “People would usually go to hilly regions during the summer but that’s also getting warmer now.”
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Chief minister MK Stalin on Monday left for another hill station Kodaikanal with his family.
After a weather station was established in Ooty in 1951, the other records were on April 11, 1969 – 28.1 degrees Celsius and May 5, 1993 – 28 degrees celsius.
In January, Ooty’s temperature dipped to 1.3 degrees celsius. The cold was accompanied by frost and residents were keeping warm in bonfires. Now, the district is facing unprecedented heat which weathermen attribute to local factors and heatwave conditions across India. “It is due to local factors such as environment, trees, wind, moisture and the whole of India getting warmer,” said Balachandran. “We can see the effects of climate change slowly.”
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for heatwave conditions till May 3. “Heat wave conditions are likely to prevail at isolated pockets over north interior Tamil Nadu,” the IMD said on Monday. “Due to humid air and high temperatures, hot and discomfort weather is very likely to prevail in isolated pockets over the rest of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.”
The highest temperature was recorded in Erode- 42 degree celsius while Chennai recorded 38.6 degree celsius. Light rain has been predicted for Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts.
Chief secretary Shiv Das Meena on April 26 held a review meeting with officials of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation as demand for power is peaking particularly in Chennai.
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master’s in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.
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