IMD Issues Heatwave Alert For These States This Week. Details

Earlier in the day, West Bengal issued order closing schools and educational institutions due to the heatwave, while the Bihar state weather department warned residents of an impending heatwave.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday that severe heatwave conditions are likely to prevail over West Bengal, Bihar, and coastal Andhra Pradesh in the next 4-5 days. The heatwave is expected to hit the northern states of Punjab and Haryana in the next two days and abate thereafter. The weather service also predicted that a new round of rain would fall over the western Himalayas on April 16 and the plains of northwest India on April 18.

The heatwave has already begun to cause difficulties in many states; earlier in the day, West Bengal issued order closing schools and educational institutions, while the Bihar state weather department warned residents of an impending heatwave.

According to the IMD, the temperature rise will subside in a few days due to the occurrence of the Western disturbance; however, an orange alert has been issued in many states, including West Bengal, until then.

"The temperature will rise further in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and North West India in the coming days. Temperatures will drop in the coming days as a result of Western disturbances. In many states, including West Bengal, an orange alert has been issued due to the heatwave," an IMD official was quoted as saying by ANI. 

Delhi Records Heatwave At Some Places: 

Heatwave conditions prevailed in isolated areas of Delhi on Sunday, and a fresh spell of rain is expected to provide some relief beginning Monday, according to the IMD.

The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 40.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees higher than normal. The low temperature was 22 degrees Celsius, which is normal for this time of year. A maximum temperature of three to four degrees Celsius above normal was recorded in several locations throughout the national capital.

Pitampura's automatic weather station recorded a heatwave, with the maximum temperature (41.9 degrees Celsius) rising five degrees above normal.

States Likely To Witness Heatwave: 

Maximum temperatures range from 40-42°C in some/many parts of northwest India's plains and adjoining Madhya Pradesh and east India, to 35-40°C in many parts of the rest of the country, with the exception of the Western Himalayan Region (25-30°C) and Islands (30-34°C), according to the Met department. Maximum temperatures are likely to remain 3-5°C above normal in many parts of northwest, east, and northeast India, it said.

According to the weather department, heatwave conditions have prevailed in isolated pockets over Gangetic West Bengal for the past five days; coastal Andhra Pradesh for the past three days; and Bihar for the past two days and it is likely to continue in this fashion for next few days. 

Western Disturbance To Hit Which States And When?

Over the next 5 days, the Western Himalayan Region can expect light to moderate scattered rainfall with thunderstorms/lightning, IMD said. On April 18, heavy rain is expected in isolated locations across Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, and Muzaffarabad; Himachal Pradesh on April 18 and 19; and Uttarakhand on April 19, it added. 

The IMD has also forecast hailstorms in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Muzaffarabad on April 16 and 17, Himachal Pradesh from April 16 to 18, and Uttarakhand from April 18 to 20.

Light rain with thunderstorms/lightning/gusty winds is expected over parts of Maharashtra over the next 5 days.