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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Does it feel hot, Keralam? Blame the weakening southwest monsoon and thinning cloud cover.

They are why the state is witnessing unusually high temperature. And, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), mercury is likely to stay 3 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal on Wedenesday too.

That’s not all. On Tuesday, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram recorded a high UV index of above 7. According to the IMD, Keralam has received only 5mm of rainfall, or 7% of what is expected, during the first week of September, which is one of the reasons for the hot weather.

P Vijayakumar, assistant professor (environmental sciences), University of Kerala, said the first week of September is traditionally associated with intense heat.

“During this period, as part of its apparent southward movement, the sun is almost directly overhead over Keralam. We normally do not feel this heat so strongly as the southwest monsoon brings cloud cover, which blocks a significant amount of sunlight. This is not happening since monsoon has weakened and cloud formation has reduced,” he said.

‘Expect usual, normal rain during northeast monsoon’

Weather experts said the impact of El Niño on northeast monsoon need not necessarily be similar to its impact on southwest monsoon.

“We can expect usual, normal rains during northeast monsoon,” said S Abhilash, director of Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research (ACARR) and head of the atmospheric sciences department in Cusat. He said the temperatures will remain above normal in the coming months.

“This will continue next year, with January, February and March likely to see peak temperatures,” he said.