Extreme summer temperatures have hit parts of the country hard with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting heatwave conditions in many places and 'severe' heat wave in isolated pockets prevailed over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar. Meanwhile, an operation remains underway to douse the forest fires in Uttarakhand's Nainital, which are being attributed to increased dryness due to heatwave.
Karnataka's Bengaluru recorded a maximum temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, city's hottest April day in years. This year’s record high is yet to surpass the all-time high of 39.2 degrees Celsius recorded on April 25, 2016, said Patil, Director of Meteorological Centre, Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), Bengaluru.
As per IMD, maximum temperatures were in the range of 42-45 degrees Celsius on Sunday over some places over Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana; 40-42 degrees Celsius over many parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Interior parts of Maharashtra, North Tamil Nadu, Marathwada, east Uttar Pradesh. These were above normal by 4-9 degrees Celsiums over in many parts of Gangetic West Bengal and in some parts of north Odisha, IMD said.
Heatwave In India | Top Points
IMD Sounds 'Severe' Heatwave Alert For Some States
The IMD has sounded a severe heat wave in isolated pockets prevailed over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar and heatwave conditions in isolated pockets over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Jharkhand, Rayalaseema, interior Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and Mahe.
Heatwave conditions have been prevailing over Odisha since April 15 and Gangetic West Bengal since April 17.
Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions very likely to prevail in many places over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar, in some parts over Jharkhand during the next four days till May 1 and then heatwave to severe heat wave conditions likely at isolated places over these areas on May 2, the IMD said in its Monday bulletin.
Heat Wave to severe heatwave conditions likely at isolated places over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal on 28 Apil and Heat wave conditions in isolated pockets for subsequent three days till May 1.
IMD has predicted heatwave conditions in isolated pockets over Rayalaseema, Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh during next five days, over Telangana during April 29 to May 1; Kerala and East Uttar Pradesh till April 30.
Karnataka's Bengaluru Records Hottest April Day In Years
Bengaluru city recorded a maximum temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the highest for the month since 2016 and reportedly the second highest in five decades. This year’s record high is yet to surpass the all-time high of 39.2 degree Celsius recorded on April 25, 2016, IMD said.
While Bengaluru will remain dry on April 30, possibly touching 39 degrees Celsius, IMD predicts light rain in some parts of Bidar, Kalaburgi, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Mysuru, Belagavi, Bagalkote and Raichur.
Red, Orange and Yellow Alert Areas
Red Alert Areas: Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Orange Alert Areas: Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, interior Karnataka. Apart from this, IMD on Monday sounded an orange alert in Kerala's Palakkad district due to the possibility of a heatwave. The weather agency also issued a yellow alert in some areas of Kollam and Thrissur districts in the wake of scorching heat and due to the possibile threat of a heatwave, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said.
Yellow alert Areas: East Uttar Pradesh, Parts of Assam, Parts of Meghalaya, Parts of Nagaland, Parts of Manipur, Parts of Mizoram, Parts of Tripura, Konkan & Goa, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala & Mahe, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal
Nainital Forest Fire Dousing Op Stays On
The firefighting operation in Uttarakhand's forests with the help of an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter continued for the second day on Sunday with the blaze being brought under control in several areas, officials said.
The state reported eight fresh forest fires in the last 24 hours, gutting 11.75 hectares, compared to the 23 such incidents damaging 34.175 hectares from Friday evening to Saturday evening, the forest department said in its daily bulletin.
Since November 1, 2023, Uttarakhand has so far recorded 606 forest fires in which 735.815 hectares of forest land were gutted, the bulletin said.
No major fire broke out in the forests over the past 24 hours, Kumaon's Chief Conservator of Forest Prasanna Kumar Patro said.
Officials attributed the recent spike in forest fire incidents in Kumaon to increased dryness due to heat wave in the lower areas of Champawat and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand bordering Nepal.
In the Kumaon region, fires are raging at two to three places in Nainital district and at one place each in Champawat, Almora, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar, Patro said.
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Cloudy Skies Likely In Delhi
On Sunday, recorded a maximum temperature of 38.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, the IMD said. For Monday, the weather office forecast partly cloudy skies in Delhi. Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was on Sunday recorded in the 'moderate' category with a reading of 165 at 6 pm, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.
Delhi on Saturday also recorded a minimum temperature a north below season's average at 22.7 degrees Celsius.
