Heatwave is likely to continue to sweep across parts of northwest India till June 9 under the influence of dry and warm westerlies blowing from the direction of Pakistan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday (June 6, 2022). Heatwave conditions may continue over Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand till Thursday, the weather office said.
In Delhi, the minimum temperature rose slightly to settle at 27.6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, even as the weather office forecast strong surface winds later in the day. The maximum temperature is expected to rise to 44 degrees Celsius, with no respite from the sweltering heat in the city.
Earlier on Monday, Delhi had recorded a minimum temperature of 26.3 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season’s average, the MeT office had said and issued a yellow alert, warning of heatwave conditions in some pockets of the city. The city on Monday had recorded a high of 43.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average.
The heatwave had tightened its grip on parts of Delhi on Sunday, with the maximum breaching the 45-degree Celsius mark in six localities.
The minimum and maximum temperature readings on Wednesday are likely to settle at 28 degrees Celsius and 43 degrees Celsius respectively with a mainly clear sky forecast, according to IMD data.
The weather office has also forecast heatwave conditions over Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Vidarbha, north Jharkhand and Odisha for the next two days.
IMD’s rainfall warning
The IMD also said that under the influence of strong southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal to northeast India, widespread rainfall is very likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim for the next five days.
The weather office has also predicted fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning over Karnataka, Kerala, Mahe and Lakshadweep, and scattered rains over Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry over the next five days under the influence of westerly winds from the Arabian Sea over peninsular India.
The southwest monsoon, which reached Kerala on May 29, has entered a weak phase and is expected to pick up the pace from Tuesday and advance further.
Meanwhile, Banda and Fatehgarh in Uttar Pradesh were the hottest places in the country on Monday as they recorded temperatures of 46.8 degrees Celsius and 46.4 degrees Celsius respectively.
