Hit by two prolonged spells of severe heat waves, east and northeast India witnessed its warmest April since 1901 with average monthly temperatures nearly 2 degrees Celsius above normal. The intense conditions scorched Odisha for 18 days and unleashed unbearable heat over West Bengal for 14 days, which was also the highest for the state in the last 15 years.
“The temperatures were quite high this month, settling around 44℃ to 45℃ for days over the eastern states. Even the mean night temperatures were the highest for eastern India since 1901 – 1.7℃ warmer than normal, which worsens the heat stress,” said Dr M Mohapatra, director-general of meteorology, on Wednesday.
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, from April 19 to June 1, are taking place amid intense heat. The deadly heat waves swept Rayalaseema, Jharkhand, North Interior Karnataka for nearly 10 days, followed by South Interior Karnataka (8), Tamil Nadu (7), Konkan and Goa (6), Bihar (6), Kerala (5), Saurashtra (4), Telangana (4) and Chhattisgarh (2).
According to the weather department, the mercury rose largely due to the absence of rains over the region. The rainfall was deficient by 20 per cent in April over the country.
“There is a lot of thunderstorm activity around this time, which brings down temperatures significantly during the evenings. However, we did not see much activity in these regions. Another reason was that an anticyclone persisted on most days over Andhra Pradesh along the eastern coast. This weather system cut off the cooler sea breeze over Odisha, West Bengal, and strengthened the land breeze that is drier and warmer,” said the IMD chief.
The humidity levels also surged past normal levels, compelling the MeT to issue hot and humid warnings for Kerala, Konkan and Goa, including Mumbai. Scientists have also observed a warming trend, especially over the southern states with temperatures rising over a long term.
Summer to hit peak in May
The record-breaking summer is now set to hit its peak in May, and the severe heat conditions are expected to sweep major parts of the country. Northwest India, which escaped the heatwave impact in April, can brace for searing heat conditions. According to the IMD, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh could experience at least five to seven heatwave days this May. This is also the period when polling begins in these states.
Normally, heat waves prevail over the northern plains, central India for three days in May. However, this time due to the ongoing El Nino conditions over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, heatwave days are likely to increase by five to eight days in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Marathwada and Gujarat; and by two to four days over the northern plains, including eastern and southern peninsular states.
Overall, the temperatures will remain far above normal over most parts of India. The rainfall, however, is expected to be normal. India receives around 61.4 mm rainfall in May as per the long period average (LPA) of 1971-2020.
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