A few days into July, many places, particularly the coastal region, continue to sizzle with higher temperatures as the Southwest monsoon remains subdued over the State. With rainfall expected to be largely confined to the Western Ghats region till July 13, dry weather may prevail over most parts of the State.
For the past three days, coastal places, along with a few interior areas, have been experiencing hot weather. The mercury level remained six degrees Celsius above normal in Thondi in Ramanathapuram district for three consecutive days and was also hottest weather station in the State. The maximum temperature peaked at 40.7 degrees Celsius in Thondi on Monday, which was the hottest July temperature recorded there in the past decade. On Tuesday, Thondi, again, registered the highest day temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius in the State.
Chennai has been experiencing elevated day temperatures and hot afternoons since the start of the week. While Nungambakkam recorded its maximum temperature of 38.9 degrees Celsius, Meenambakkam also registered 39 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has forecast light rainfall in one or two places in the State, Puducherry, and Karaikal areas during the next week. However, isolated places in Western Ghats districts like Coimbatore and Nilgiris may experience showers of light to moderate intensity.
Officials of the RMC said while the monsoon has gained strength in other parts of the country, including central India, its activity has turned subdued over Tamil Nadu. The prevailing strong westerly, southwesterly winds have delayed the onset of sea breeze, depriving many coastal places of the usual afternoon relief and contributing to rising heat levels.
V.R. Durai, Head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, RMC said the lack of widespread rainfall is expected to keep daytime temperatures slightly above normal, prolonging the warm spell in July. Noting that coastal places like Thondi experienced relatively unusual day temperatures, he said the delayed onset of sea breeze in coastal places like Thondi, Nagapattinam, and Chennai, kept the day temperature elevated.
On Tuesday, heat remained unrelenting in Chennai as the mercury level hovered around 37 degrees Celsius, even at 4.30 p.m. Strong southwesterly winds prevented wind convergence and possibility of cloud formation. However, the wind pattern is likely to change towards the weekend, bringing some respite to the State.
The RMC has forecast that Chennai might record a maximum temperature of 37-38 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
Published – July 08, 2026 05:30 am IST
