Kerala reels under intense heat as temperature up by 3 to 5 degrees

KOCHI: Kerala is reeling under intense heat as maximum temperatures shot up by three to five degrees above the normal range, amid high humidity levels, at many places. This is likely to continue for the next 4-5 days, said India Meteorological Department (IMD). Experts said that the heat index, which is indicative of 'how hot it feels' on the human body, must have crossed 50-55 at many places.
Kerala felt like a molten pot as dry and sultry weather prevailed on Friday.IMD said the maximum temperatures would be around 40 degrees in Thrissur and Palakkad and the same would be around 37 degrees in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kannur and Kozhikode, which is 2-4 degrees over the normal temperature. Palakkad and Vellanikkara recorded the highest among IMD stations at 40 degrees. The UV index was above 12 on Friday and is likely to be the same on Saturday; people are advised to avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm.
There is a warning for moderate, isolated rain with thunderstorms over Kerala. Thunderstorms with lightning are very likely at one or two places in Kerala on Saturday and it will be accompanied by lightning and gusty winds (speed 30-40 km/hr) is very likely at one or two places over Kerala on April 16-18.
IMD said a trough/wind discontinuity persists from north Chhattisgarh to Kerala across interior Maharashtra, Telangana and interior Karnataka. For Lakshadweep, there is a possibility that the sea will be rough near the shore along the coast till 05:30am on Saturday because of high period (15-18.5 sec) swell waves (0.5-1m). Current speeds may vary between 5-20cm/sec.
The automatic weather stations at many places recorded over 40 degrees which experts said could be a variation of 1-2 degrees due to system error. Yet many places reported higher temperatures of over 38 degrees, especially Palakkad, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kannur.