The city reeled under heatwave conditions for the second consecutive day on Thursday. This is attributed to the very severe cyclonic storm Yaas, which crossed the coast near Balasore in Odisha on Wednesday.
Visakhapatnam airport recorded 41 degrees Celsius on Thursday evening, while Waltair (city areas closer to the coast) recorded 41.4° C. The temperature recorded at the airport was lower compared to the 42.2° C recorded on Wednesday. Waltair had recorded 41.4° C on Wednesday.
Waltair recorded 8.2° Celsius above the average normal temperature of 33° C on Wednesday. The average normal temperature at Visakhapatnam airport is 36.4° C during this time of the year. The temperature recorded on Wednesday was 5.8° above normal.
The steep increase in temperatures is attributed to the cyclone, which sucked up the moisture from the coastal areas into the system. The normal moisture in the atmosphere, which ranges between 70 and 80% in Visakhapatnam, dipped to 18% in the city on Wednesday.
“The cyclonic system draws strong moist winds from the lower troposphere, arresting the sea breeze. The troughline from the centre of the cyclonic system is running south westwards, along and off Andhra coast. The absence of moist current and dry hot winds blowing from the north west caused the marked rise in the day temperature,” P.V. Rama Rao, a retired Director of the IMD, told The Hindu.
The maximum temperatures are likely to be 2 to 4 degrees above normal at isolated places in north coastal A.P. on May 28 and 29, in south coastal AP on May 29, 30, 31 and in Rayalaseema on May 30 and 31, according to the IMD.
