The worst of the heat has now shifted to Northwest India, with severe heatwaves expected to scorch Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh till May 22. The temperatures have already surged past the normal values by 4.7℃ in Haryana, where the highest maximum temperature was recorded at 47.1℃ in Sirsa, while it crossed 46.3℃ in Ludhiana in neighbouring Punjab.
The unbearable heat has also stretched across the national capital, with 45.1℃ recorded in Palam, Delhi, on Friday, which was nearly 4℃ above-normal, while it was recorded at 46.2℃ at Ayanagar, and peaked at 47.4℃ at Najafgarh. There is not much respite during the night as well, as the mercury remains around 27℃ at most places, and warm night conditions prevail in several places.
The dangerous heat has compelled the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue an orange warning for the states from May 18-22, with a red warning for Rajasthan where the temperatures are already hovering above 43-46°C in most places. The mercury is set to rise by another 2-3℃ on Saturday, with scorching heatwave over the weekend.
As summer hits its peak, the weather will also remain dry over the next few days with no rains in sight. However, people could experience strong surface winds (25-35kmph) during the day due to a western disturbance impacting the higher altitudes in Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir, said IMD.
Agra (Taj) recorded its highest-ever maximum temperature 46.9℃ on Friday, while it surged to 44.5℃ in Chandigarh — the third-highest maximum temperature for the city. The searing heatwave conditions have already started impacting parts of West Rajasthan, isolated areas of Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, East Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat on Friday.
RECORD-BREAKING SUMMER
The dangerous levels of heat this summer are breaking several records across the country. Eastern India and southern states bore the brunt all of April with prolonged spells of heatwaves. Intense heatwaves scorched Odisha and West Bengal for nearly 18 days in April continuing up to the first week of May.
The deadly heat waves swept Rayalaseema, Jharkhand, North Interior Karnataka for nearly 10 days, followed by South Interior Karnataka (8), Tamil Nadu (7), Konkan and Goa (6), Bihar (6), Kerala (5), Saurashtra (4), Telangana (4) and Chhattisgarh (2). The weather department had early warned in its summer outlook that the heatwaves are expected to stretch across Northwest India in May.
According to IMD, the current spell of heatwaves may also impact Bihar, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand as well as East Madhya Pradesh where the humidity levels have also surged. The mercury is also expected to rise in Maharashtra. The ongoing summer was forecasted to witness an unusually high number of heatwaves partly due to the ongoing El-Nino conditions over the equatorial Pacific Ocean – when the surface waters are warmer-than-usual.
MONSOON AT DOORSTEP
Meanwhile, the wait for the southwest monsoon continues. The latest forecast suggests it is likely to advance into the South Andaman Sea, southeast Bay of Bengal and Nicobar Islands around May 19. With this, the MeT is confident that it could make its onset over Kerala around May 31 (+/-4 days). However, the seasonal rains could take roughly 20-25 days to reach Delhi around the last week of June.
The four-month monsoon season is responsible for providing nearly 75 per cent of the annual rains over the country, and this year, the IMD had predicted above-normal rains.
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