Thiruvananthapuram: Kottayam and Thrissur recorded the highest day-time temperature in the state this year, at 39 degrees Celsius, on Thursday. Thrissur has seen 39 degrees in March before, but in Kottayam, it was four degrees above normal this time of the year.
Palakkad, and Punalur in Kollam, which normally record high heat, remained at 37 degrees on the same day.
In Kottayam, the weather bureau records heat at the Rubber Board office. Weather experts say such rise in temperature within such a short period is quite unusual. Kottayam had been witnessing, on an average, two degrees higher temperature this year, since the onset of summer. Alappuzha also was warmer, but the highest temperature this year had been only 35 degrees.
In Kottayam, the highest temperature in March had been 38.5 degrees, measured on March 9, 2004. The warmest day in March last year found 37.2 degrees. The average heat in the district in March had been 34.4 degrees. Thrissur has experienced 38 degrees even before.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said it was keenly watching the sudden rise in temperature in Kottayam. “Incidents of soaring temperatures impacted by global warming have been reported in certain places. Factors behind it could be the descend of atmospheric air and the direction of the wind,” S Sudevan, director, IMD, said.
Temperature that is 5 degrees greater than the normal mandate a warning of a looming heat wave. That would call for tough controls, including for work at noon. Kerala first declared a heat wave on April 26 and 27 in 2016.
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