No relief in sight as severe heatwave grips East and South India

Eastern and Southern India face relentless heatwave conditions, with no respite expected for the next five days, according to the latest forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Heatwave alert

Gangetic West Bengal, parts of Odisha, and isolated areas in Sub-Himalayan West Bengal are likely to experience severe heatwaves, with Bihar, Jharkhand, Rayalaseema, Interior Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu also affected.

Kerala, Mahe, and Konkan are set for heatwaves on April 27-29, while severe heatwaves are predicted for Uttar Pradesh, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam in Puducherry from April 28 to May 1.

The IMD also predicts hot and humid conditions in West Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura until April 29, and in Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Konkan, and Goa until May 1.

Meanwhile, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds are expected over the Western Himalayan Region until April 30, and over the plains of Northwest India until April 29.

Bengal in grip of heatwave

Southern West Bengal is expected to experience heatwave conditions until April 30, with abnormally high temperatures caused by dry westerly winds and intense solar insolation.

Incidentally, Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district recorded the highest temperature in West Bengal at 44.7 degrees Celsius, with Kolkata also facing extreme heatwave conditions.

Red alert in Odisha

In Odisha, Bhubaneswar saw temperatures rise to a sweltering 44.6 degrees Celsius, making the IMD issue a red warning for several areas, cautioning of severe heatwave conditions.

Reasons

Overall, IMD attributes these weather patterns to a combination of a western disturbance, a cyclonic circulation over central Afghanistan, and a trough - which are expected to bring widespread rainfall/snowfall across the northwestern regions of India until April 30.

Hailstorms are likely to occur in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during this period, while isolated heavy rainfall is forecast for Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh from April 27-29.

Also, scattered rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi until April 29.