Kochi: With summer peaking across the country, Kerala faces extreme heat this season. Although the state's ambient temperature is 38 degrees Celsius, the heat felt is above 50 degrees Celsius.

The heat index (HI), which measures the apparent temperature felt by humans, is exceeding 50 degrees Celsius due to high humidity. Dr S Abhilash, Director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research at CUSAT, said that this weather is likely to continue for another week.

At high humidity levels, the rate of sweat evaporation reduces. This impacts the body's natural cooling process, making the air feel significantly warmer than the actual thermometer reading.

Additionally, with the sun overhead in South India, UV levels are higher in the state. These conditions are worsened by the absence of rain clouds, which further raises temperatures. He added that cyclonic circulation in the northern Arabian Sea and the flow of hot air are other factors contributing to the hot weather.

The weather forecast indicates that in the next two days, the temperature in all districts except Wayanad and Idukki will rise above 36 degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a yellow alert for high temperatures across 12 districts. The alert has been issued in all districts except Idukki and Wayanad.

The weather agency warned that until April 15, maximum temperatures could reach 40 degrees in Palakkad and 39 degrees in Kollam.

The IMD also forecasted temperatures to hover around 37 degrees in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod, while Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram may record highs of around 36 degrees. Hot and humid conditions are expected to prevail across these districts, except in hilly regions, on April 13, 14 and 15.

The intense summer has also had an impact on the water levels in the state's reservoirs. The water level in the Idukki dam has dropped to 2,341 feet, 8.3 feet below last year's level.

The water level has significantly dropped across all KSEB dams in the state, with only 37 per cent of water currently retained. This is the first time the water level has dropped this low since 2022.

At a historic high, the average daily electricity consumption in the state rose to 102.01 million units in April, up from 93.14 million units last year. Currently, 80 million units of electricity is brought into the state daily.

Estimates indicate that the monsoon will arrive in another 48 days.