The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Sunday that Delhi’s temperature is forecasted to hover around 38 degrees Celsius over the next 2-3 days, with a chance of light rain on Monday.
In an interview with ANI, IMD Senior Scientist Dr. Naresh Kumar mentioned that Eastern India could experience temperatures soaring up to 44 degrees Celsius in the upcoming 4-5 days.
“In Delhi, our estimate is that the temperature is expected to remain around 38 degrees Celsius in the coming 2-3 days. After this, it may increase slowly by 1-2 degrees and with it, there is a possibility of light rain tomorrow…At present, if you talk about Eastern India, the temperature has reached 44 degrees Celsius in 1-2 stations. In the next 4-5 days, the temperature can reach 44 degrees Celsius in Eastern India, and in Northwest India, there is no hope of it being near 40 or more than 41 degrees Celsius,” Kumar said.
Senior Scientist Naresh Kumar from IMD, Delhi, remarked that a heatwave is presently affecting East India, and it’s anticipated to persist in certain states over the next 4-5 days.
“In West Bengal, we have issued a Red alert as heatwave to severe heatwave is prevailing there. The temperature is 6.5 to 4 degrees Celsius higher than normal. Along with this, the minimum temperature is also higher than normal. From tomorrow, we predict that there will be a slight drop in the temperature, and after that Orange alert has been given for 4 days,” he added.
He further indicated that an orange alert has been issued for Odisha for Sunday and Monday, with a potential slight decrease in temperature thereafter.
“For Odisha, we have given Orange alerts for today and tomorrow and after that, we estimate that there may be a slight drop in temperature and after a break of 2 days, there will be heatwave conditions again in Odisha,” he said.
Naresh Kumar stated that Bihar is anticipated to experience heatwave conditions in the upcoming days.
“In Bihar, heat wave conditions are expected to prevail in the coming 5 days. We have been given alerts for five days. The night and morning temperatures are more than normal. In Jharkhand too, there is some possibility of a heat wave,” Kumar said.
The senior scientist from IMD mentioned that South Peninsular India is not currently facing a heatwave scenario. However, the advisory issued pertains to ‘Hot and Humid’ conditions, with maximum temperatures exceeding the usual levels.
“In South Peninsular India, there is no heat wave scenario, but the warning given by us is for ‘Hot and Humid’ and the maximum temperature is higher than normal. For Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, we have issued a ‘Hot and Humid’ warning alert for the next four-five days,” he said.
A heatwave is characterized by air temperatures that become dangerously high for human health when exposed. It is typically defined by specific temperature thresholds within a region, either in terms of the actual temperature or its deviation from the normal range.