On Saturday in Chennai, Nungambakkam saw a maximum temperature of 38.3°C, and Meenambakkam saw 38.1°C. Tiruchy and Vellore saw 42.5°C, while Madurai and Thoothukudi saw 41.2°C. Erode saw 41.4°C, and Dharmapuri saw 40°C.

The reason for this dip in weather, according to weather bloggers, is the strong sea breeze across the coastal districts. “Strong sea breeze has been pushing across the Chennai coast. Though it may increase the humidity, it’s much better than the heatwave conditions seen in the past couple of days. Temperatures in Tamil Nadu reduced marginally across the state with only Trichy and Vellore crossing 42ºC today,” said weather blogger K Arikanth, who runs the page Chennai Rains.

Interior districts can expect a continuation of such weather patterns till next week, said officials. “From April 5 to April 7, heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in isolated pockets over Vellore, Thirupattur, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, The Nilgiris, Tirupur, Coimbatore, Erode, Karur, Tiruchirapalli, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Sivagangai, Virudhunagar, Theni, Dindigul, Madurai and Pudukottai districts, and the maximum temperature is likely to be 4 to 5 degree Celsius above normal,” said a release from the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.