Heat wave likely till month end

Even as Phalodi in West Rajasthan recorded the highest maximum temperature of the season in the country with 50.5°C, heat wave conditions in other parts of the country are likely to prevail for the next few days. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has notified that heat wave conditions are likely to continue in Vidarbha and Central Maharashra along with other places in the country till May 21.

However, as the predictions point out to a delay in arrival of the monsoon, Mumbaikars are slated to sweat it out for more than a week in the current highly humid and hot conditions.

IMD officials said the maximum temperatures during day and night are likely to remain above normal over the entire northwest, west and central India till May 26, and will most likely fall to their respective normal or below normal values only post May 27.

“As the northwest movement of the cyclonic activities over the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, offer fairly widespread thunder showers, the areas outside northwest India are likely to suffer the heat wave anomalies,” said an IMD official.

Officials confirmed that as the current heat wave conditions continue to prevail, minimum temperatures have stayed above 5.1°C of their normal temperatures in central Maharashtra and other places. At the same time Marathwada, and Vidarbha, the regions suffering from extreme drought conditions, are expected to suffer heat wave anomalies with temperatures going up by 3.1°C to 5.0°C above normal. Moreover, even western ghats are slated to suffer more or less similar issues with Konkan and Goa and south interior Karnataka and other parts of the state reporting above 1.6°C to 3.0°C than their normal temperatures.

What could be considered good news is that that the conditions are favourable for further advancement of southwest monsoon into some parts of South Bay of Bengal, Andaman Islands and remaining parts of the north Andaman sea during the next 48 hours.

While Maharashtra is struggling with the severe drought conditions on the one hand and a possible heat wave conditions on the other, delay in arrival of monsoons will only increase the woes of the residents.