The India Meteorological Department has announced that heat wave conditions are expected to continue over parts of east and peninsular India for the next two days.
Areas likely to experience heat waves include Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Vidarbha, North Interior Karnataka, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, Rayalaseema, and Telangana.
Over the past 24 hours, isolated pockets in North Interior Karnataka, Rayalaseema, and Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam have experienced heat wave conditions.
A heatwave is a dangerous condition where air temperatures become potentially harmful to the human body when exposed. It is determined based on temperature thresholds in a region in terms of actual temperature or deviation from normal.
In some countries, heatwaves are defined based on the heat index, which considers temperature and humidity, or extreme percentiles of temperatures.
A heat wave is considered to occur when the maximum temperature at a station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius for plains and at least 30 degrees Celsius for hilly regions.
The IMD advises people to avoid heat exposure, wear light-colored, loose, cotton clothing, cover their heads, and use a cloth, hat, or umbrella for protection.
Maximum temperatures on Thursday ranged from 40-42 degrees Celsius in many parts of Vidarbha, Telangana, Rayalaseema, East Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Marathwada, Coastal Andhra Pradesh & Yanam, and North Interior Karnataka. They were also elevated in isolated areas of Gangetic West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
Maximum temperature deviations were 3-4 degrees Celsius above normal in isolated areas of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, East Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Vidarbha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal, Rayalaseema, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Additionally, enhanced rainfall and thunderstorm activity is expected to continue in the northeastern part of the country until April 9, 2024.
Another Western disturbance is predicted to impact the Western Himalayan Region from April 10, 2024, resulting in light rainfall/snowfall in isolated areas of Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh on April 5-6, 10-11, and Uttarakhand over the next 7 days.
There is a possibility of isolated rainfall in Rajasthan on April 5-6, 10-11, 2024, according to the IMD.
A cyclonic circulation persists over north Bangladesh, while another cyclonic circulation is located over east Assam and its surroundings.
Under their influence, widespread to moderate rainfall/snowfall with isolated thunderstorms and lightning is likely in Arunachal Pradesh; scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall with isolated thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura over the next 7 days.
