Delhi is unlikely to see any respite from the prevailing heatwave as the maximum temperature on Wednesday touched 40 degrees Celsius. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the mercury will soar to 43 degrees Celsius by Saturday in the national Capital. Delhi recorded 39.6 degrees Celsius on March 30, making it the highest of this season so far.
In its latest forecast, the IMD said that northwest India and adjoining parts of central India including Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, South Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are predicted to see “more intense and frequent heatwave” conditions in April.
The IMD said that the continuing scorching heat in Delhi is likely to increase further and no relief is expected at least for the next six days. The maximum temperature in Delhi is forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and 42 degrees Celsius by Friday. The maximum temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius was recorded at the base centre on Wednesday last week, which is the highest temperature so far this season.
“We are expecting the temperature to be higher than normal in the entire northwest India and adjoining central India, starting with Gujarat, Rajasthan and up to east Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” IMD Director-General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Wednesday at a virtual event on “Building Climate Resilience for the Most Heat Vulnerable.”
The IMD had earlier predicted that April will be “more severe” than March and the temperatures will be higher than normal, Mohapatra said. “The frequency of intense heatwave conditions will be higher in April as compared to March.
And, we expect the heatwave conditions to continue till April 15 in some parts,” he added. The IMD in a statement said the ongoing heatwave spell started mainly over west Rajasthan and the adjoining areas of Gujarat and west Madhya Pradesh from March 27. It extended to east Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, south Haryana, Delhi and southern parts of Uttar Pradesh by March 29.
“This spell has been continuing for a longer period and has already completed more than a week. Besides, a persistent heatwave is being observed over northern plains, central India and parts of the western Himalayan region with the maximum temperature in the range of 25 to 33 degrees Celsius at higher ridges. Heatwave data for April (2017-2021) shows this type of longer spell is not unusual,” it said. Eight to 12 days long heatwave spells were observed over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Punjab and parts of Gujarat in April 2017 and 2019. Six to eight days’ long heatwave spells were observed over parts of the western Himalayan region covering Himachal Pradesh and Jammu in April 2017, the IMD said.
India recorded its warmest March in 122 years with a severe heatwave scorching large swathes of the country during the month. The IMD has attributed the heat to the lack of rainfall due to the absence of active western disturbances over North India and any major system over South India.
According to the IMD, a "heatwave" is declared in plains, when the maximum temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius and at least 4.5 notches above normal. A "severe" heatwave is declared if departure from normal temperature is more than 6.4 notches, according to IMD.