Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has turned into a virtual furnace in the intense summer heat. The northern and central districts, especially, are experiencing blistering heat.

The State Disaster Management Authority has issued an alert after the heat index that measures the intensity of the temperature in the human body, reached the 58 mark in seven districts which is when extreme caution should be maintained. Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur recorded a high heat index on Thursday. 

The heat index in most places of the State fall in the 45 to 50 range which can cause heat stroke.

Fourteen places in the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kannur crossed a temperature of 40°C as per the data recorded by the Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) of the Meteorological Department. This indicates the intensity of the heat, although the data recorded by the AWSs have not been officially released by the Meteorological Department as there is no past data to make a comparison.

The temperature levels have crossed 40°C at 17 places if the records from the Integrated Rural Technology Centre at Mundur in Palakkad (41.7°C), the Kerala Engineering Research Institute, Peechi (41.5°C), and the Agricultural University’s Agriculture College, Mannuthy (40°C), are taken into account.

Officially, Palakkad (39°C) and Vellanikkara in Thrissur (38.7°C) recorded the highest temperatures in the State on Thursday.

The Meteorological Centre in Thiruvananthapuram has predicted that the temperatures would rise in the coming days in Palakkad, Thrissur, and Kannur districts by 3 to 4°C over the normal levels and by 2 to 3°C in Kottayam and Kozhikode districts.

Directions by Disaster Management Authority
· There should be no direct exposure to sunlight from 11 in the morning to 3 in the evening
· Drinking water should be kept ready at all times.
· All establishments must conduct fire audit.
· Extreme caution must be maintained against wildfire in hilly areas.

Rain set to arrive
Almost all districts will receive summer rain in the next four days. There are chances of lightning too. But spells of light rain will only increase the humidity in the atmosphere and will not help in reducing the temperature.

Record power consumption
Power consumption in Kerala is breaking records each day. If the usage continues to increase the same way, the electricity available at present would not be sufficient. In that situation, additional power would have to be bought from the Power Exchange at Rs 10 per unit in order to bridge the deficit in supply.

Power is available for sale in the exchange at present. If it becomes unavailable, restrictions on the use of power would have to be imposed.

The 9.29 crore unit daily power usage record set on April 28 last year was broken on Tuesday with the use of 9.56 crore units. By Wednesday, the record was broken again with the usage reaching 9.85 crore units.

The extent of use of electricity yesterday can be known only today.

Red hot places
At the following places the temperature crossed 40°C on Thursday:

Place|Temperature
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Peechi (Thrissur) | 42.4°C
Malampuzha Dam (Palakkad) | 42.3°C
Mangalam Dam (Palakkad) | 41.9°C
Chittoor (Palakkad) | 41.5°C
Mannarkkad (Palakkad) 41.5°C
Chemperi (Kannur) | 41.4°C
Pothundi Dam (Palakkad) 41.3°C
Nilambur (Malappuram) | 41.3°C
Vannamala (Palakkad) | 41.1°C
Pattambi (Palakkad) | 41°C

Adakkaputhur (Palakkad) | 40.9°C
Ayyankunnu (Kannur) 40.8°C
Munderi (Malappuram) | 40.4°C
Kannur Airport | 40.1°C
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NB: The above data was recorded at the Automatic Weather Stations of the Meteorological Department.