The heatwave has gripped several parts of the country with Nagpur and Chandrapur in Maharashtra on Wednesday recording a maximum temperature of 47.8 degrees Celsius and India Meteorological Department (IMD) warning of no respite from the scorching heat this week. The national Capital reeled under hot and dry weather condition. The maximum temperature crossed 44 degrees Celsius mark in Delhi and is set to touch 45-46 degrees Celsius in coming days.
It is considered heatwave if the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius or more for plains, 37 or more for coastal stations, and 30 or more for hilly regions.
Heatwave conditions have spread across two-thirds of the country. In north India, heatwave prevails in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, among other areas. In southern parts of the country, temperatures have shot up above 40 degrees Celsius in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Telangana. Vidharbha in Maharashtra remains one of the worst affected regions where Chandrapur recorded the highest temperature across the country at 47.8 degrees Celsius. Nagpur recorded this season’s highest temperature at 47.5 degrees Celsius, which is also the second highest in the last 10 years.
Churu in Rajasthan recorded a high of 47.3 degrees Celsius, four notches above the normal. Bikaner and Ganganagar recorded 46.8 degrees Celsius. Brahmpuri and Wardha in Maharashtra recorded 46.9 degrees Celsius. In Telangana, Adilabad was the hottest city with 46.3 degrees Celsius while Niazamabad settled at 45.6 degrees Celsius. In UP, Banda was the hottest area recording 46.2 degrees Celsius. Haryana’s Narnaul witnessed 46.2 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal.
The IMD said the mercury has started soaring, touching 44 degrees Celsius in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Marathwada, West Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and one and two pockets of Uttarakhand, Saurashtra, Interior Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand and Telangana.
Temperatures are likely to go up by two-three degrees Celsius across the northern India. According to BP Yadav, Deputy Director General, IMD, this is the first spell of heatwave this summer. “Heatwave conditions are expected to be severe in the next 3-4 days in Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Severe heatwave conditions were observed in over Vidarbha, in some parts over West Rajasthan and southeast Uttar Pradesh and in isolated pockets of Madhya Pradesh and Telangana,” Yadav said.
The IMD had earlier warned maximum temperature during the April-June period would exceed normal by 0.5 degree Celsius over most part of central India and some subdivisions from north-west.
Meanwhile, the researchers at the IIT are conducting a study to develop India-specific heat stress tolerance thresholds to formulate a plan for heat management.
Heat stress is a stress felt by body when exposed to heat in the summer.