It was summer in Goa last Dec

Thursday, 15 January 2009 15:07

By Paul Fernandes, TNN PANAJI: If you thought December felt like a summer month, then you would not be wrong. With an average high of 34.7 degrees Celsius, December was the hottest month of 2008, hotter than May by .4 degrees C. It was also the second hottest month in 38 years, the hottest being November 2004, when the average monthly maximum temperature had recorded 35.7 degrees C. "The mean maximum temperature of 34.7 degrees C, recorded during December 2008 was the second highest in 38 years, as per records available at the observatory since 1971," K V Singh, director, weather observatory, told TOI on Wednesday. While the average maximum temperature for May 2008 was 34.3 degrees C, meteorologists were surprised to find that the average rise in mercury in December was even higher. "The normal mean maximum temperature for December is 32.7 degrees C, so last month's mean is about 2degrees C above normal," Singh explained. December 21 at 36.4 degrees C was the hottest December day. The temperature had started soaring above 36 degrees C three days earlier -- on December 14, 17 and 18. "For 12 days in December, the maximum temperature was above 35 degrees C," Singh said. December brought a year of records to an end. A year during which the mercury rose and fell frequently. October 2008 was the hottest month in 38 years and October 15, when the temperature rose to 37.2 degrees C, was the hottest day of the year. Earlier, the average maximum temperature of 33.8 degrees C in October was a record in 38 years, making October 2008 the hottest month in almost four decades. < Prev   Next >