IMD forecasts severe heat in north India; Delhi under 'orange alert'

Large swathes of India continue to remain vulnerable to extreme heat with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting heatwave to severe heatwave conditions across several parts of the country on Wednesday.

 

UP’s Banda recorded the highest temperature in the country on Tuesday at 48.2 degrees Celsius, as heatwave conditions tightened their grip over northwest and central India.

 

According to the IMD, maximum temperatures remained markedly above normal at several places, including parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. Temperatures were also appreciably above normal across parts of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

 

Heatwave to intensify across north India

The IMD has forecast heatwave to severe heatwave conditions over large parts of northwest and central India over the coming days till May 25.  

 

Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are very likely to prevail over parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha till May 25. Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi are also expected to remain under heatwave conditions through the week.

 

Andhra Pradesh and Yanam may witness severe heatwave conditions on May 21 and 22, while Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Marathwada are also expected to experience heat stress over the next few days.

 

Warm night conditions are likely to prevail in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha on Wednesday, adding to discomfort levels across the region.

Delhi under ‘orange alert’

Residents of Delhi-NCR are set to witness another spell of intense summer heat today, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an orange alert for heatwave conditions over the next seven days as temperatures continue to remain above 40 degrees Celsius.  

 

Delhi recorded maximum temperatures in the range of 45-47 degrees Celsius over the past 24 hours, with the weather office warning of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions over the next two days.

 

Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 45.1 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, while Ridge recorded 46.5 degrees Celsius.  

Thunderstorms, heavy rain likely in several states

While northern and central India continue to reel under intense heat, several parts of northeast, east and south India are expected to witness rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds.

 

Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are likely to receive rainfall during May 22-25, with heavy to very heavy rainfall forecast over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya later this week.

 

In southern India, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and parts of Karnataka are expected to receive light to moderate rainfall along with thunderstorms and gusty winds till May 25. Coastal Andhra Pradesh and the Rayalaseema region may also witness thundersquall activity with wind speeds reaching up to 70 kmph during May 20-23.

 

Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal may witness thunderstorms and gusty winds over the coming days.

 

Meanwhile, the IMD said conditions are favourable for the further advancement of the southwest monsoon into parts of the southeast Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Comorin area and the remaining parts of the Andaman Sea during the next three to four days.

 

The weather office has also forecast that the southwest monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 26, with a model error margin of plus or minus four days.