Summer heat, humidity set to rise in Chennai in coming weeks | Chennai News

Chennai: The sudden, short spells of rain earlier this week have cooled the nights and made the days pleasant during what is otherwise the driest month of the year. However, the relief may be short-lived, with heat expected to set in soon.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that dry weather would return on Sunday, while weather bloggers said summer conditions may gradually take hold across the city and the rest of the state by the end of March or early April.“On Sunday, the city and the suburbs may experience dry weather. The sky may be partly cloudy, keeping temperatures at a maximum of 33-34C and a minimum of 25-26C,” an IMD bulletin said.Meteorologists said the recent rainfall across the city and several parts of the state was triggered by a trough, an elongated region of relatively low pressure, in the westerlies dipping unusually southwards. Historically, such troughs are seen dipping only up to Maharashtra during March, bringing thunderstorms there, but this time it extended further south, triggering rain over parts of peninsular India.According to the IMD’s daily weather report, dry weather is likely to prevail over most parts of Tamil Nadu in the coming days, with only “light rain at isolated places over Western Ghat districts” between March 22 and 24.In the coming days, while there is a possibility of pre-monsoon showers, popularly known as mango showers in Kerala and Karnataka near the ghats, over interior districts of Tamil Nadu, coastal areas such as Chennai may see a steady rise in temperatures during the day and humidity at night.“The coming days will be dry in Chennai. Super El Nino is likely to develop by June. It normally brings intense summer in the year it decays, but we may experience hotter days this summer as well,” said blogger Pradeep John.The IMD has already predicted heatwave conditions for the coming months, with Chennai likely to experience three to six heatwave days.On Saturday, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam recorded 32.6C and 34.2C, 0.7 and 0.1 below normal.