IMD Issues Heatwave Alert; Northwest & Central India to Experience Above-Normal Temperatures
IMD issues heatwave alert for Northwest and Central India; temperatures expected 2–6°C above normal this week.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued a heatwave alert, warning of above-normal temperatures across large parts of Northwest and Central India over the coming week. According to the forecast, maximum temperatures are expected to remain 4 to 6 degrees Celsius above normal in many areas of Northwest India and 2 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal across Central India.
Under the influence of a Western Disturbance, light rainfall and snowfall activity is also expected over the Western Himalayan region between March 7 and March 10, the IMD noted. Despite this, the plains of Northwest and Central India are likely to experience a continued rise in temperatures over the next several days.
Recent observations indicate that maximum temperatures in the past 24 hours ranged between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius in West Rajasthan, Interior Gujarat, Interior Maharashtra, North Interior Karnataka, South Peninsular India, South Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. Other plains in North and East India recorded temperatures between 30 and 34 degrees Celsius, except parts of Northeast India, North Punjab, North Haryana, and Northwest Uttar Pradesh, where temperatures remained below 30 degrees Celsius. Jharsuguda in Odisha and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest maximum temperatures in the plains at 39 degrees Celsius.
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Minimum temperatures during the past 24 hours were between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius in Jammu division, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Assam & Meghalaya. Other plains reported minimums of 18 to 22 degrees Celsius, with the lowest at 12.5 degrees Celsius in Ayodhya (East Uttar Pradesh) and Sikar (East Rajasthan).
The regions expected to experience significantly above-normal temperatures include the Western Himalayan Region (Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand), Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West and East Uttar Pradesh, and West and East Rajasthan. Maximum temperatures are projected to rise by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius over the next four days and remain well above normal for most of the week. Minimum temperatures are also forecast to increase by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius.
In Central India, including West and East Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, and Chhattisgarh, a gradual rise of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius in maximum temperatures is expected during the next four days. Similar temperature increases are forecast for Andhra Pradesh and North Maharashtra over the next few days. Hot and humid conditions are likely in isolated pockets over North Konkan on March 4 and 5, and coastal areas of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh between March 4 and 6. In Delhi, temperatures over the past 24 hours ranged from 29 to 32 degrees Celsius, with minimums between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius.
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