CHENNAI: The intense heat that is showing no signs of reducing is felt not only in the northern parts, including Chennai and its neighbouring region, and interior districts, but is felt even in Ooty in the Nilgiris district, a popular tourist hotspot where people from the plains flock to especially during summer.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the hill station recorded 27.6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Though it is much less than other parts of Tamil Nadu, what makes the reading noteworthy is the departure from normal.
The weather data shows that the temperature at Ooty was 4.2 degrees Celsius above the normal. That wide a departure falls under the definition of heatwave.
Even Kodaikanal, the other most popular hill station in Tamil Nadu, also recorded a rise in maximum temperature by 2 degrees Celsius to reach 23.1 degrees Celsius.
While most weather stations in Tamil Nadu have recorded a maximum temperature that is hovering around 40 degrees Celsius, the highest was recorded at Salem with 42.3 degrees Celsius. This, according to weathermen, was 4.4 degrees Celsius above normal.