Heatwave: Kolkata records hottest April day in 44 years; Ooty hottest ever
Ooty does not appear to be a cool respite this summer as the familiar tourist haunt recorded its highest-ever temperature of 29°C on Monday
Large swathes of India are reeling under searing heat, with temperatures setting new records and touching decades-old ones.
The maximum temperature recorded in Kolkata on Monday (April 29) was reportedly the highest recorded in the city in April in 44 years and the second highest in 70 years.
While on April 25, 1980, the maximum temperature recorded was the same as Monday’s 41.7°C, the record for the highest April temperature for the City of Joy remains 43.3°C, recorded during a 1954 heatwave, The Times of India reported. In 1902, too, the mercury had reportedly touched 43.3°C, on April 2.
No respite till May 5
Kolkata and Gangetic Bengal in general has been reeling under a record spell of heatwave, with Monday being the eighth day this month with the maximum temperature crossing 40°C.
Also, with Monday’s high, 2024 joined 2009 and 2016 as the years with the most 40°C-plus days in Kolkata in the current century. With Tuesday’s temperature likely to be recorded at 40°C-plus as well, 2024 may set a new record for the highest number of 40°C-plus April days in at least 26 years.
The only respite that came for Kolkatans was the Met department’s forecast of cooler days next week. Until May 5, heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely to continue in south Bengal.
Red alert for 4 states, orange for 3
Not only Bengal, large parts of eastern and southern India are suffering in searing heat and stifling humidity, with maximum temperatures soaring to 45°C on Monday, straining power grids and prompting health warnings from government agencies.
The weather office issued a red alert, warning that extreme heat could scorch parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha over the next two to three days. An orange warning is in place for parts of Telangana, Karnataka and Sikkim.
Bihar, Odisha sizzle
On Monday, temperatures shot up to 45.4°C (8.6 notches above normal) in Kalaikunda and Kandala, 45°C in Nandyal (Andhra Pradesh), 44°C in Sheikhpura (Bihar), and 44.8°C in Baripada (Odisha).
The day temperature crossed 42°C at 17 places Bihar on Monday.
In Odisha, the mercury on Monday breached 44°C in four places, while the maximum temperature soared to 40°C or more in at least 32 places across the state.
Hottest-ever Ooty
The southern parts of India are no better. Tamil Nadu’s Udhagamandalam, popularly known as Ooty, does not appear to be a cool respite this summer as the familiar tourist haunt recorded its highest-ever temperature of 29°C — 5.4 degrees above its average — on Monday.
The previous all-time high temperature of 28.5°C was recorded on April 29, 1986.
The regional Met department has warned of heatwave conditions in isolated pockets over north interior Tamil Nadu and issued a yellow alert for heatwave conditions till May 3.
Searing Kerala
In Kerala, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued an orange alert in Palakkad district for the second consecutive day due to the possibility of a heatwave there till May 2.
The IMD also issued a yellow alert in Alappuzha, Thrissur, and Kozhikode districts due to the possibility of heatwaves there as well during the same period.
Maximum temperatures are very likely to be around 41°C in Palakkad district, around 40°C in Thrissur district, around 39°C in Kollam and Kozhikode districts and around 38°C in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Kannur districts between today and May 4, it said.
Two persons — a man in his 50s and an elderly woman — succumbed to sunstroke in Kerala on Sunday.
(With agency inputs)
