Chennai: Agni Nakshatram or kathiri veyil, as it is known better, begins tomorrow with humidity levels expected to touch 58 per cent in the city.
With Cyclonic storm Fani, that is displaying its fury at Odisha coast, sucking out the moisture in the air, the mercury is set to rise (to over 37 degree celcius in Chennai), according to the Met department.
The dog days will last till 29 May, for 25 days and is the hottest period according to the Tamil calendar.
But reports state that the city will be saved by the sea breeze during May. By June however, the breeze will either be delayed or absent.
Rise in temperature in the interior districts resulted in convectional rainfall earlier this week with a few places in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts receiving six cm rainfall. Good amounts of shower was also seen at Dindigul and Salem.
The Met department has predicted that close to 16 places in the State will see temperatures soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Some parts have already seen scales touch 103 degrees F.
Photo: R Thiyagarajan