IMD issues 'red alert' for Delhi; temperature likely to touch 44 degrees

The India Meteorological Department IMD on Sunday issued a red alert in Delhi informing that the temperatures can range between 28 to 44 degrees Celsius reported the ANIAccording to the ANI senior IMD scientist Naresh Kumar said that the current situation will prevail for the next weekGenerally May is considered the hottest month If there is no rainfall activity in North India then the temperature normally crosses 45 degrees Celsius It is forecast that this situation will prevail for the next week This scenario will continue for the next 5 days in Rajasthan Punjab and Haryana We have issued a red alert A heatwave situation will exist in UP for the next 34 days Heatwaves will also prevail in North MP We have issued an orange alert for the region he said as per the ANIMeanwhile severe heatwave conditions exceeding a blistering 45 degrees Celsius were observed in some parts of Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat the India Meteorological Department IMD said on Saturday the news agency reported on SundayIMD said that Barmer in Rajasthan experienced a scorching high of 469 degrees Celsius Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh also recorded a searing 469 degrees CelsiusSurendranagar and Deesa in Gujarat also recorded temperatures ranging between 45 and 455 degrees Celsius on SaturdaySouthwest monsoon makes onset over Nicobar Islands IMDThe Southwest monsoon the lifeline of Indias farmbased economy on Sunday made its onset over the Nicobar Islands the southernmost region of the country the India Meteorological Department IMD said according to the PTISouthwest monsoon has advanced into some parts of the Maldives and the Comorin area and some parts of the South Bay of Bengal Nicobar Islands and South Andaman Sea on Sunday the weather office said the news agency reportedThe annual rainfall phenomenon is expected to reach Kerala by May 31The date of monsoon onset over Kerala has varied widely over the last 150 years the earliest being May 11 in 1918 and the most delayed being June 18 in 1972 according to IMD dataThe rainbearing system arrived in the southern state on June 8 last year May 29 in 2022 June 3 in 2021 and June 1 in 2020Last month the IMD had forecast abovenormal rain in the monsoon season in India with favourable La Nina conditions cooling of equatorial Pacific Ocean expected to set in by AugustSeptember La Nina conditions help in a good monsoon season over IndiaLarge parts of the country are battling a brutal heatwave with maximum temperatures touching 48 degrees Celsius shattering records in several states and severely impacting health and livelihoods Southern India experienced heatwave spells in AprilThe crippling heat is straining power grids and drying up water bodies triggering droughtlike conditions in parts of the country A prediction of abovenormal monsoonal rainfall therefore comes as a huge relief to the fastdeveloping South Asian nationThe monsoon is critical for Indias agricultural landscape with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it It is also crucial for replenishing reservoirs critical for drinking water apart from power generation across the countryJune and July are considered the most important monsoon months for agriculture because most of the sowing for the kharif crop takes place during this periodwith ANI and PTI inputs