Heatwave to abate, thundershowers likely in Tamil Nadu, central India
Heatwave conditions are likely to abate over most parts of the country from Tuesday, according to IMD bulletin. The maximum temperature over north-west India is likely to fall by three to four degrees during the next 24 hours and rise thereafter, the forecast said.
In Delhi, the maximum temperature is likely to be 39 degrees Delhi on Tuesday with partly cloudy skies. This will be less than 40.8 degrees Celsius recorded on Monday at the Safdarjung weather station. The maximum temperature then is set to rise over the next six days — to around 41 degrees by May 6 and further to 43 degrees by May 8.
Also read: Massive power cuts in several states due to heatwave, coal shortage
There are chances of thunderstorms and rain over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and all southern states till Friday. However, Maharashtra and Gujarat may continue to experience hotter days this week, with a heatwave forecast on Thursday and Friday over Madhya Maharashtra.
Respite for Tamil Nadu
The people of Chennai may get a respite from summer heat as IMD has predicted rainfall for some parts of coastal Tamil Nadu in May. For the past few days, Chennai has been reeling under an intense heatwave and occasional spells of rain may bring much-needed relief.
Scattered rainfall with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds have been predicted over Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the next five days. The IMD has predicted that some interior districts may receive normal to below normal rainfall in the coming days.
P Senthamarai Kannan, Director, IMD Chennai told The Times of India, “A system, which is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal-South Andaman Sea around May 6, may bring rainfall if it makes landfall in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Normally, systems that form in May move towards the north.”
As per the weather experts, the system is likely to move towards Myanmar, which may end the current spell of rain in interior districts and temperatures may rise across the state. The state can expect some rain after the second week of May.
Haryana changes school timings
Meanwhile, the Haryana government has decided to change timings of all schools with effect from Wednesday. Due to intense heatwave prevalent throughout the state, it has been decided that the timings of all schools — government and private — will be from 7 am to 12 pm for Classes 1 to 12 with effect from May 4, said the order issued by the Directorate of School Education on Monday.
For the past several days, maximum temperatures at most places in Haryana have hovered in the range of 41-45 degrees Celsius.
IMD to expand services in 50 cities
In a significant move, the IMD has announced the launch of Urban Meteorological Services for 50 cities by next year. A similar service was introduced in Delhi last year, across 13 locations in the national capital where a number of weather parameters are recorded and used for issuing localised weather forecasts and warnings.
“In cities, there are urban heat islands which can play a contributory factor in regulating weather parameters, like temperature,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of IMD.
