It’s sizzling hot in Vizag due to high levels of relative humidity

Visakhapatnam experiences extreme heat with temperatures feeling like 50 degrees Celsius due to high humidity levels.

As per the observations of the Cyclone Warning Centre (CWC) in Visakhapatnam, the Waltair area registered a maximum temperature of 36 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 30.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

But many people feel the temperature to be beyond 50 degrees Celsius.

“Yes, the sun has been blazing from 9 a.m. to 3 pm. It feels like 50 degrees Celsius. To be out for work is quite a challenge, and staying indoors too without an air-conditioner on is not an easy task,” says Girija Shankar Patro, a retired Canara Bank officer of KRM Colony, Seethammadhara.

There has been no respite for the past few days. Except for the pleasant weather conditions that prevailed for a few days following thunderstorms, the hot weather, with high levels of relative humidity (RH), has turned the city sultry, particularly after the cyclone Remal over the West Bengal coast.

“If the RH levels are high, people may perceive it as high temperatures,” says O.S.R.U. Bhanu Kumar, emeritus professor of Meteorology, Andhra University.

“For example, if the temperature in a particular location is 30° Celsius, people living in that area will feel it like 40° Celsius if the RH levels are high,” he explains. This is called heat index temperature.

If same principle is applied to Thursday’s weather (36 degrees Celsius temperature and 79% humidity) in Waltair area, then the heat index temperature will be 60 degrees Celsius (which is extremely danger). Heat stroke may occur.