Severe heatwave sweeps India; temperatures to rise further over next 5 days

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, April 29, 2022: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that the current spell of heatwave may further intensify over the next five days, with temperatures touching 45 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. The forecast shows that heatwave conditions are very likely over northwest and central India during the next five days, and over east India in the next two days. According to experts quoted by news agency PTI, temperatures may even scale to 47 degrees Celsius in parts of northwest India.

 

“A rise of about two degrees Celsius in the maximum temperature is very likely over most parts of northwest India during the next two days,” the IMD said.

The blistering heatwave sweeping through vast swathes of the country intensified on Thursday with the mercury crossing the 45-degree mark at several places.

Delhi, Gurugram  reel under intense heat

Delhi saw the hottest April day in 12 years at 43.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday. The IMD has issued an orange alert for the national capital on Friday, indicating heatwave conditions at many places and severe heatwave at isolated places.

Its neighbour Gurugram in Haryana logged an all-time high of 45.6 degrees Celsius on the same day, breaking the previous record of 44.8 degrees Celsius on April 28, 1979.

IMD issues ‘orange’ alert in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha

An orange alert has been issued for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra for the next four days. Vidarbha in Maharashtra and west Rajasthan have consistently reported maximum temperatures in the range of 40 degrees Celsius to 45 degrees Celsius for the past two months.

In Maharashtra, the orange alert has been issued indicating severe heat for the Wardha, Akola, Chandrapur, and Yavatmal districts for Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, west Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Rajasthan are likely to experience heatwave conditions during the next five days, and east Uttar Pradesh between April 29 to May 1.

Bihar, Jharkhand, interior Odisha, Chhattisgarh & Gangetic West Bengal are likely to go through a heatwave on April 29 and 30, and Telangana on April 29.

The IMD uses four colour codes for weather warnings. Green means no action needed, yellow refers to watch and stay updated, orange means be prepared while red alert means take action.

Heatwave impacts peoples’ health, power supply

IMD has said the impact of severe heat includes high temperature, increased likelihood of heat-related illness in people who are exposed to sun for a prolonged period doing heavy work, and vulnerable population like infants, senior citizens and people suffering from chronic illness. “Hence people should avoid heat exposure, wear lightweight and light-coloured cotton clothes and cover the head with a hat or umbrella,” the weather body said.

Amid the heatwave, India’s peak power demand in a day touched an all-time high of 204.65 GW on Thursday.

A heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius and at least 4.5 notches above normal. A severe heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature is more than 6.4 notches, according to the IMD.

Large parts of India have been recording higher than normal temperatures since the last week of March, with weather experts attributing it to the absence of periodic light rainfall and thundershowers, typical for this time of the year, due to the lack of active western disturbances.

Northwest India saw at least four western disturbances in March and April, but they were not strong enough to cause a significant change in weather, said Mahesh Palawat, Vice President (Meteorology and Climate Change), Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.

India saw its warmest March since the IMD began keeping records 122 years ago amid a 71 per cent rain deficit.

Rainfall likely over northeast states

Fairly widespread/widespread rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning or gusty winds, with a speed reaching 40-50 kmph, is very likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. Whereas scattered or fairly widespread rainfall is very likely over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Sikkim during next five days. Isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over Arunachal Pradesh on 30th and over Assam and Meghalaya between April 30 to May 2.

Courtesy: Indian Express