Most of India, especially the northern part, suffers from extremely hot weather. With the rising temperature, the humidity has brought a sigh of relief to all.
Indian Metrological Department (IMD) On Monday, April 17, 2023 released the list of hottest cities in India.
The two cities that topped the list were Murshidabad, which recorded a high of 43 degrees Celsius, and Bankura, which recorded a high of 40 degrees. Significantly, both the cities are in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, Delhi, which is experiencing heat wave conditions for the third consecutive day, ranked fifth on the list and shared a maximum temperature of 40 degrees with five other cities: Bankura, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Churu in Rajasthan , Chandigarh and Vijayawada of Andhra.
Delhi’s primary weather station, Safdarjung Observatory, recorded a maximum temperature of 40.6 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.
Gurugram was not far behind with a maximum temperature of 39°C.
The mercury hovered around 40 degrees Celsius in large parts of the country on Monday as the IMD predicted heat wave conditions in parts of eastern India over the next four days and over the northwest region over the next two days.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gangetic West Bengal and Bihar are likely to witness heat wave conditions for four consecutive days. Similar conditions may also be experienced over Sikkim, Odisha and Jharkhand in the next two to three days.
Similar conditions are expected in isolated pockets over Punjab and Haryana on Monday and West Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. East Uttar Pradesh may also be affected on April 18-19.
“A cloudy sky and light rain may bring some respite from the heat in the city on Wednesday,” the IMD said.
In Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai, at least 13 people died of heatstroke after attending a mega event on Sunday, which also included Amit Shah, Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis.
Other regions that witnessed heat-wave like conditions include Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Most parts of Haryana and Punjab recorded maximum temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius today. Hisar recorded a mercury of 41.5 degrees Celsius, while in Punjab, Bathinda recorded a maximum temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius.
A heat wave with above-normal temperatures is expected to continue over most parts of India till May 31, threatening to reduce crop production and harm efforts to control food costs.
Speaking to Bloomberg, climate scientist Kieran Hunt said that there are two reasons why India is experiencing frequent and severe heat waves.
“First, the Indian government’s definition of a heat wave is fixed, so as background temperatures increase, fewer and less strong anomalies are required to cross the heat wave definition threshold. Second, It appears that the weather pattern – high pressure over north India, dry, sunny, clear conditions with weak wind – is also increasing the frequency associated with these anomalies,” he said.
Earlier this month, the MeT office predicted above-normal maximum temperatures over most parts of the country from April to June, except in the northwest and peninsular regions.
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