The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Monday that the extreme heat wave prevailing over a significant portion of east India will persist for another five days. This spell of scorching heat, the second this month, is affecting parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Bihar, among other states.
Heat-wave conditions have gripped Odisha since April 15 and Gangetic West Bengal since April 17, according to the Met department.
According to a PTI report, the IMD noted in an official statement that heat-wave to severe heat-wave conditions are anticipated in parts of West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand over the next five days.
The department also said coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, West Bengal, and Bihar may experience heightened discomfort due to elevated humidity levels.
East Madhya Pradesh is expected to experience significantly warm nights on April 22 and 23. High temperatures at night are dangerous because they prevent the body from cooling down. Because of the urban heat island effect, which causes metro areas to be noticeably hotter than their surroundings, cities are even more likely to experience higher nighttime temperatures.
A heat wave is officially declared when the maximum temperature at a weather station reaches 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in coastal areas, and 30 degrees in hilly regions, with a departure from normal of at least 4.5 notches. Severe heat-wave conditions are declared if the deviation from normal exceeds 6.4 notches.
Heat Wave & Lok Sabha Elections
The IMD had earlier warned of extreme heat during the April–June period, when approximately a billion people are expected to exercise their right to vote during the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.
The IMD has forecast 4 to 8 heat-wave days across different parts of the country in April, compared to the usual 1 to 3 days. For the entire April-June period, 10 to 20 days of heat-wave conditions are expected, as opposed to the normal 4-8.
States likely to witness a higher number of heat-wave days include Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Some areas may even experience more than 20 heat-wave days, the IMD has said.
In a mid-April update, the IMD also projected above-normal cumulative rainfall for the 2024 monsoon season, with La Nina conditions expected to set in by August-September.