Northern plains, central India to have high number of heat wave days in May: IMD

Above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country in May and a significantly high number of heat wave days expected over the northern plains central region and adjoining areas of peninsular India said IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra on WednesdayA prolonged and intense spell of heat wave scorched swathes of east northeast and southern peninsular India in April prompting health warnings from government agencies and some states to suspend inperson classes in schoolsFive active Western Disturbances led to rain thunderstorm and hailstorms over north and central India at regular intervals in April preventing heat waves the India Meteorological Departments director general told a press conferenceIMD data shows that the heat waves in April this year were far worse than in 2023 the warmest year on record so farThis trend is likely to continue in May with around eight to 11 heat wave days predicted over south Rajasthan west Madhya Pradesh Vidarbha Marathwada and Gujarat regions Mohapatra saidThe remaining parts of Rajasthan east Madhya Pradesh Punjab Haryana Chandigarh Delhi Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Chhattisgarh interior Odisha Gangetic West Bengal Jharkhand Bihar north interior Karnataka and Telangana may record fiveseven heat wave days in the month he saidNormally the northern plains central India and adjoining areas of peninsular India experience around three days of heat waves in MayAbove normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country in May except for most parts of northeast India some parts of northwest and central India and adjoining areas of northeast peninsular India where normal to belownormal maximum temperatures are likely the IMD saidAbove normal minimum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country except the northeast and some areas of northwest India IndoGangetic plains and the central regionNormal rainfall 91109 per cent of the longperiod average is predicted in the country in May Normal to above normal rainfall is likely over most parts of northwest India and some parts of central peninsular and northeast India Below normal precipitation is likely in the remaining parts of the country the IMD saidIndia saw two spells of heat waves in April iquest from April 5 to 7 and April 15 to 30Mohapatra attributed the prolonged heat wave spell over east northeast and south peninsular India in April to the absence of thunderstorms and a persisting anticyclone at lower levels over the west central Bay of Bengal and the adjoining eastern coasts of IndiaThis caused the sea breeze to cut off over Odisha and West Bengal on most days he saidThe IMD said south peninsular India recorded an average maximum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius in April which was the secondhighest since 1901The mean temperature 2812 degrees Celsius in April in east and northeast India was the highest since 1901 the weather office saidThe IMD chief said above normal maximum temperatures have become frequent over south peninsular India since 1980s The region recorded 126 mm of rainfall in April which was the fifth lowest since 1901 and the second lowest since 2001Mohapatra said the number of heat wave days this April was the highest in 15 years in Gangetic West Bengal and nine years in OdishaOdisha also experienced the longest heat wave spell 16 days in April since 2016Amid the prevailing but weakening El Nino conditions the IMD had earlier warned of extreme heat during the AprilJune period coinciding with the sevenphase Lok Sabha electionsHundreds of thousands of voters had to cope with the searing heat when they stepped out to exercise their franchise in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26 Polling for 94 constituencies across 12 states will take place on May 7The weather office had earlier expected four to eight heat wave days in different parts of the country in April against a normal of one to three days Ten to 20 heat wave days are expected against a normal of four to eight in the entire AprilJune periodFollowing a decrease in turnout in the first phase of polling the Election Commission EC set up a task force to review the impact of the heat waveThe task force includes officials of the poll panel the IMD the National Disaster Management Authority NDMA and the Union Health and Family Welfare MinistryGiven the Central governments contemplation of the one nation onepoll concept the IMD chief had earlier told PTI that authorities must consider weather conditions and the climate in their planningOne nation one poll refers to the idea of holding simultaneous polls in the country to elect Lok Sabha and state assembly representativesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason 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