Madurai Airport Records 42.5 Degrees Celsius as City Becomes Hottest in India

Madurai became the hottest place in the country on Tuesday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatory at Madurai Airport recording a maximum temperature of 42.5°C. This temperature, which was approximately 5.5 degrees Celsius above normal, came as weak southwest monsoon conditions triggered heatwave-like weather across interior Tamil Nadu.

According to the IMD, another weather station in Madurai city logged 41.6°C on the same day, which is about 5.7 degrees Celsius above the normal temperature. Meteorologists have stated that relief from the intense heat may arrive on Friday, when rainfall activity is expected to become widespread across the region.

V R Durai, the director of the Area Cyclone Warning Centre at IMD Chennai, explained that the intense heat is directly linked to a weak low-level jet, also known as the Somali Jet. This jet is a narrow band of strong southwesterly winds situated about 1.5 kilometres above the Arabian Sea. It normally transports moisture towards the west coast of India during the southwest monsoon.

Currently, this low-level jet is weak, which has significantly reduced moisture transport and weakened the southwest monsoon over the west coast. Both the weak low-level jet and developing El Nino conditions have led to a weakened southwest monsoon and suppressed overall monsoon activity over south peninsular India.

In addition to the weak jet, the developing El Nino is also causing a large-scale sinking of air over southern India. This atmospheric phenomenon suppresses cloud formation and enhances daytime heating.

Durai stated that because the low-level jet is currently weak, moisture transport is reduced, thereby weakening the southwest monsoon over the west coast. He noted that with fewer monsoon clouds and little rainfall, interior Tamil Nadu is experiencing clear skies and intense daytime heating.