Finally, some relief for Chennai as short spell of rains lowers mercury

Faced with a scorcher of a summer, Chennai’s residents received some small relief on Tuesday afternoon, thanks to a short spell of rain. Showers began at around 2.30pm in different parts of the city and lasted for close to an hour. This brought temperatures down to about 34 degrees Celsius by 5pm in the evening. 

The Meteorological department told TNM that these showers will continue over the next few days as the Monsoon moves north.

"This is a result of the South West Monsoon. We can continue to expect short spells of rains for at least another two days," said Area Cyclone Warning Centre director S Balachandran.

According to skymetweather.com, “a cyclonic circulation is over Andhra Pradesh and a trough is extending up to Southwest Bay of Bengal and Tamil Nadu coast,” and this should result in more rain in Chennai on Wednesday.   

Weather blogger K.Srikanth, meanwhile, says that the rain is due to favourable wind patterns in the state. "Over the next few days, we can expect rain in Chennai, Pondicherry, Vellore and certain parts of the delta region," he said. 

According to the blogger, Nungambakkam saw 11 mm of rain on Tuesday. This was, however, not confirmed by the Meteorological department. "We can expect two to five centimetres of rain over the next three days," said Srikanth. "The maximum temperature will come down to 38 or 39 degrees Celsius," he added. 

Chennai has been suffering multiple periods of extreme heat, with temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius on many days in the last few weeks. At its worst, on May 18, Meenambakkam recorded a maximum temperature of 43.6 degree Celsius, the highest temperature recorded in Chennai in the last 15 years.