At 43, its hot, but not hottest

CHENNAI : At 43^o Celsius, the scorching sun literally baked residents of Chennai on Friday. Officials of the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) however say that the temperature “is not uncommon and also does not fall under the all-time high category.” The highest-ever temperature recorded in the city was in 2003, when the mercury touched 45^o C.According to S R Ramanan, Director, RMC, the uncomfortably hot weather could continue for several days to come. On Friday, Nungambakkam recorded a maximum temperature of 39.7^oC while the maximum at Meenambakkam was 43 ^oC. Humidity was at 83 per cent. This was similar to the recordings on Thursday when the maximum temperature was 41.8^oCelsius  at Nungambakkam and 42.9 ^o Celsius at Meenambakkam.On the squally winds witnessed on Thursday night in areas including Pattabiram and Avadi Ramanan said, “When thunder clouds form, at times, we get downdraft. This is normal.” On cloud formation about 80 km off Chennai and drizzle in a few areas, Ramanan said it could be due to convection.On Saturday, the sky is expected to be cloudy and thunderclouds may develop during evening or night. The temperature is likely to remain in the range of 42-43 0 Celsius.  S Muthukrishnan, a marketing executive said many arterial roads in the city had a “comparatively lean flow of vehicles,” on Friday. “My job involves extensive travel and I am used to commuting in the hot sun. Still, the past few days have been really hot,” he said. Power poles damagedOn Thursday, the squally wind damaged 88 electricity poles (mostly low-tension and a few high tension) and even snapped cables in parts of Pattabiram and in a few places in Avadi. Subsequently power supply was also affected in these areas — with no power through the night. A few trees and mobile towers had also fallen. The railway level crossing gate in Pattabiram was bent because of the squally winds. A senior official said: “Uprooted trees fell on overhead power lines. This is the major cause of power failure. As the strong wind lashed for 30 minutes the damage was greater.”On Friday, TANGEDCO workers restored power in these localities. The official said all the damaged poles were replaced and all snapped lines restored. Now, overhead cables are being linked to transformers. “The repair will be fully done by Saturday,” the official said.