IMD predicts twice as many heatwave days in northwestern India this summer

The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday predicted nearly double the number of heatwave days in northwestern India during the summer, ANI reported.

This, however, does not mean that all summer days in the region will have above-normal temperatures, the department said.

“In northwest India, generally, it [heatwave] is for five-six days, so we are expecting 10-12 days of heatwave, but this is a seasonal fact,” ANI quoted the weather department scientist Soma Sen Roy as saying. “It does not mean that throughout the season all the days will be above normal...”

The weather agency declares a heatwave for a region when the temperature crosses 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees Celsius in coastal areas and 30 degrees Celsius in the hills.

At the national level, the weather agency calculates the total heatwave days as a culmination of such weather conditions in all 36 meteorological sub-divisions. For instance, a heatwave day, when experienced in five sub-divisions, is counted as five heatwave days.

On Wednesday, the maximum temperature in Delhi rose to 40.5 degrees Celsius, said the India meteorological agency.

By 5.30 pm, the temperature had crossed the 40 degrees Celsius mark in Akola and Chandrapur towns of Maharashtra. Pune recorded its hottest day of the season so far with the temperature reaching 41.4 degrees Celsius, which is about 4.7 degrees above...

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