Temperature to be higher than normal in northwest India, adjoining central India in April: IMD

PTI

New Delhi, April 6

Northwest India and adjoining parts of central India are predicted to see “more intense and frequent heat wave” conditions in April, India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Wednesday.

“We are expecting that the temperature will be higher than normal in the entire northwest India and the adjoining central India, starting with Gujarat, Rajasthan and up to east Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” he said at a virtual event on ‘Building Climate Resilience for the Most Heat Vulnerable’.

The IMD had earlier predicted that April would be “more severe” than March and the temperatures would be higher than normal, Mohapatra said.

“The frequency of intense heat wave conditions will be higher in April as compared to March. And we expect the heat wave conditions to continue till April 15 in some parts,” he added.

The IMD in a statement said the ongoing heat wave spell started mainly over west Rajasthan and the adjoining areas of Gujarat and west Madhya Pradesh from March 27. It extended to east Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, south Haryana, Delhi and southern parts of Uttar Pradesh by March 29.

“This spell has been continuing for a longer period and has already completed more than a week. Besides, a persistent heat wave is being observed over northern plains, central India and parts of the western Himalayan region with the maximum temperature in the range of 25 to 33 degrees Celsius at higher ridges. Heat wave data for April (2017-2021) shows this type of longer spell is not unusual,” it said.

Eight-to-12 day-long heat wave spells were observed over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Punjab and parts of Gujarat in April 2017 and 2019. Six-to-eight-day-long heat wave spells were observed over parts of the western Himalayan region covering Himachal Pradesh and Jammu in April 2017, the IMD said.

India recorded its warmest March in 122 years with a severe heat wave scorching large swathes of the country during the month.