The arrival of monsoon brings much-needed respite from the scorching summer for most parts of India, but for Chennai, monsoon rarely brings relief from the searing temperatures of June. Even this year, despite the onset of monsoon on Sunday, temperatures in Chennai hovered at around 40°C on Monday.
The Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) has stayed around Karwar on the west coast and Chennai on the east coast over the past 24 hours. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the conditions are becoming favourable for the advance of Southwest Monsoon into the remaining parts of Tamil Nadu during the next two days.
On Monday, Chennai’s Nungambakkam and Ennore area recorded 39.5°C, while Meenambakkam registered 39.7°C—two units above-normal. Few other parts of Tamil Nadu like Vellore, Thiruthani and Cuddalore witnessed even higher temperatures of up to 41.7°C.
The rain was, however, sparse across the state, with Kanyakumari receiving a maximum of 12.4 mm rainfall from morning to evening on Monday. Chennai received a trace amount of rainfall in isolated parts, while the city remained cloudy throughout the day.
Forecasts suggest that light rain is possible over Chennai on Wednesday, while thunderstorms could prevail over the coming weekend. However, temperatures are likely to remain in the range of 28-40°C throughout this week, offering no respite for the Chennaites.
Summer-like conditions usually prevail over Chennai throughout June. Since the moisture-laden southwesterly monsoon winds hit a road-block in the form of Western Ghats, only dry, hot winds crossover to Tamil Nadu. Therefore, despite being in the similar latitude, the western coastal city of Mangaluru received more than 3,000 mm of rainfall during monsoon months, while Chennai received less than 500 mm of rain from June to September.
Both May and June are the hottest months for Chennai with an average daily maximum of more than 37°C. However, June heat is particularly unbearable due to weaker sea breeze blowing into the city. While Chennai received 53 mm rainfall during summer months from March to May, it has received only 1.5 mm so far since June 1 as against the normal of 12 mm.
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Source: https://weather.com/en-IN/india/monsoon/news/2020-06-08-chennai-warmer-normal-despite-arrival-monsoon-rains-sparse
