With temperatures soaring above normal in recent days, a cattle herder protects herself from the sweltering heat with an umbrella on the outskirts of the Visakhapatnam city.
| Photo Credit: V RAJU
Residents in the city have been experiencing summer-like conditions over the past few days with day temperatures rising, despite the southwest monsoon season.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Waltair area (near the RK beach) recorded maximum temperature at 33.3° Celsius, which is 1.8 degrees above normal. At Visakhapatnam airport on Wednesday, the maximum temperature recorded was 35° Celsius, which is 2 degrees above normal. According to the State meteorological department, the highest maximum temperature recorded was 37° Celsius at Pendhurthi in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, followed by Bhimili, Arilova and its surrounding areas at 36° Celsius.
Traditionally, as per the Telugu calendar, the Shravana month is usually associated with abundant rainfall. However, such weather phenomenon during the holy month has not been witnessed.
While the recent low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal near the Kolkata coast brought torrential rainfall across south coastal Andhra Pradesh, the low pressure area bypassed Visakhapatnam even though it is is closer to Kolkata than Vijayawada.
With these dry weather conditions, people are facing intense humidity and scorching sun. They are resorting to using umbrellas and switching on the air conditioning to beat the heat. Moreover, in many areas groundwater levels have dropped resulting in low water supply from borewells.
Meanwhile, the IMD in its forecast bulletin on Wednesday said: “Strong winds gusting up to 40-50 kmph are likely to prevail in north coastal Andhra Pradesh till August 3.
Published – July 30, 2025 11:14 pm IST