Rains bring no relief

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The flow of easterly wave and a trough of low pressure that developed over the Bay of Bengal are causing isolated thundershowers in the State. However, the city is yet to get a respite from the scorching heat. Meteorologists points to the presence of high humidity as the reason for the ‘discomfort factor.’  The maximum temperature was around 35 degrees Celsius from the onset of summer. The isolated thundershowers and cloudy atmosphere have lowered the temperature to around 33 degrees Celsius in the past two days. However, there has not been much change in the discomfort factor, which is a combination of temperature and humidity. “Discomfort factor will be high if the temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius and humidity around 80 per cent. Since Thiruvananthapuram is a coastal region, humidity will remain high. It is more than 80 per cent,” said P S Biju, scientist at IMD, Thiruvananthapuram. The IMD release on Tuesday said that the maximum temperature was 33 degrees Celsius in Thiruvananthapuram city and 31 degrees at Airport. Minimum temperatures were 26 and 24 degrees Celsius respectively in city and Airport. The city received only 3 mm of rainfall since the onset of summer. Met expects isolated thundershowers till Thursday.  The Met release on Tuesday has issued a warning to fishermen against venturing into the sea, since strong winds of speeds occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph are likely off the State coast.