Coimbatore, which was once considered to be one of coolest places, has been finding itself on the hotter side recently. Thanks to the enormous emission of greenhouse gases by vehicles and industries, the temperature is set to see new heights in the future.

The Agro Climate Research Centre (ACRC) has also predicted that the average temperatures during the summer season have increased during daytime as well as at night.

According to S. Pannerselvam, Head and Professor of ACRC, the average temperatures during the month of April have increased from 35.4 degrees Celsius to 38.4 degrees in the day, and from 23.6 to 24.6 degrees at nights. “The temperature in the month of May has also increased by 2.1 degrees during daytime, and by 1.3 degrees after sunset,” he added.

The increase in the temperature has also reportedly resulted in the lack of summer rains.

“The city received up to 266 mm of rain in the summer of 2015, which is much higher than the average 136 mm. But it has drastically reduced to 69 mm this year,” informed Panneerselvam.

Explaining that only a cold climate could go well with the warm air that is coming from the ocean to create rain, Panneerselvam also added that the warmer air in city is not helping the rain.

The department had also predicted that the Southwest monsoon would also be deficit in Coimbatore by 20 mm. The average rain in Coimbatore during Southwest monsoon is 189.8 mm and the expected rain is 152 mm.

However, Panneerselvam opined that the city could receive good rain during the Northeast monsoon and in the summer of 2017, which would cool the city down.

“We should not forget that we are emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at an alarming rate. It is high time we took care of pollution, and plant more trees,” he told the Covai Post.