Several parts of eastern India including states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh have been sizzling under extreme heat wave condition which is likely to remain till the beginning of May.
The India Meteorological Department on Sunday said east and northwest India is likely to experience severe heatwave conditions by the end of April, with mercury predicted to soar till early May.
In its extended range forecast for April 22-28 and April 29-May 5, the IMD said maximum temperature is likely to soar by 3 degrees Celsius to 6 degrees Celsius above normal over several parts of India beginning April 29.
“Our models are showing that Odisha, Jharkhand, east Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar will be badly impacted by the heat wave. I would say that east India will be more affected this time. There will be above normal temperatures and heatwaves over northwest India also during the next two weeks. But at least due to approaching western disturbances, the heatwaves are not likely to continue. The normal are increasing so the impact of heatwave will be more intense. But in the east, it’s the combination of severe heat and humidity that will affect people,” RK Jenamani, senior scientist at the national weather forecasting centre, IMD told HT.
Over the past couple of days, Odisha has been simmering under extreme heatwave conditions with temperatures in several districts hovering above 40 degrees Celsius.
State capital Bhubaneswar on Sunday recorded the season’s highest of 43.3 degrees Celsius – also the third highest since April 2011 – with 28 places in the city recording temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.
Weathermen have predicted that the temperature may rise by three to five degrees in the interior parts of the state over the next few days under the impact of northwesterly-westerly dry air and high solar insolation.
While Subarnapur in western Odisha recorded the highest temperature in the state (43.8 degrees Celsius), Cuttack, recorded 41.1 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
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A yellow warning has been issued for the districts of Subarnapur, Boudh and Bolangir districts for the next four days.
The Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar has advised precautionary measures for vulnerable groups including infants, elderly and sick people while stepping out of home between 11 am and 3 pm.
After a brief respite, scorching heat gripped West Singhbhum, Koderma and Giridh districts of Jharkhand on Monday and is likely to spread to Ranchi, Bokaro, East Singbhum, Garhwa, Palamu and Chatra districts by April 28, weathermen said.
“The dry and hot winds from the west and northwest parts of the country are increasing the temperature of Jharkhand. The maximum temperature is likely to shoot up by two to four degrees Celsius during the next two-three days,” Abhishek Anand, in-charge of Ranchi meteorological centre told PTI.
Temperature in the above districts has remained above 40 degrees Celsius.
While Ranchi is sizzling at 40 degrees Celsius, mercury is predicted to go up by one or two degrees more in the next two days.
Godda recorded the maximum temperature of 42.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday, followed by Daltonganj (42.7 degrees Celsius), Deoghar 42.6 (degrees Celsius), Chaibasa (42.4 degrees BCelsius), Jamshedpur (42.2 degrees Celsius), Sahibganj (41 degrees Celsius), Giridih (40.3 degrees Celsius) and Bokaro (40.1 degrees Celsius).
The state, however, may get some respite in form of rains from April 29.
The IMD has also issued a heatwave alert for Bihar after the temperature exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in many districts. On Monday, capital Patna seared at 42.2 degrees Celsius.
Besides Patna, extreme heatwave conditions are currently prevalent in Dehri, Sheikhpura, West Champaran’s Madhavpur, Aurangabad, Nawada and Harnaut in Nalanda.
With several parts of South Bihar reeling under extreme heatwave conditions, the weathermen have predicted no respite for the next four days.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has instructed the health department to be on its toes to address cases of Chamki fever which occurs during this season.
For the northwest India, weathermen predict maximum temperatures to touch up to 46 degrees Celsius and up to 48 degrees Celsius in places like Barmer and Churu in Rajasthan, Vidarbha (Maharshtra), and parts of south Madhya Pradesh.
The IMD, however, predicts normal to above normal rainfall in northeast India, Kashmir and over extreme south peninsular India, mostly covering Kerala and coastal Karnataka, in the next few days. Below normal rainfall is predicted over the plains in the northwest including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.