As scorching temperatures enveloped vast swathes of the country on Wednesday, Rajasthan's Barmer experienced an intense heatwave, with the mercury soaring to a staggering 48 degrees Celsius, marking the highest temperature recorded thus far this year.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a forecast indicating the persistence of severe heatwave conditions in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh until May 26, offering little relief from the relentless heat for at least the next four days. However, amidst this heatwave, Kerala grappled with heavy rainfall, resulting in the unfortunate loss of at least four lives.
According to the latest weather bulletin from the IMD, regions of East and West Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and West Uttar Pradesh are likely to experience heatwave to severe heatwave conditions from Thursday to April 26. Similarly, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh are expected to endure severe heatwave conditions from Friday to April 26.
In anticipation of the scorching temperatures, the disaster management agency in Jammu and Kashmir cautioned residents to remain vigilant against forest fires, highlighting an Extreme Forest Fire Risk for the ensuing seven days and urging prompt reporting of any incidents for immediate action.
Gujarat also felt the grip of the relentless heat, with the Kandla region recording a blistering temperature of 46.1 degrees Celsius, closely followed by Ahmedabad at 45.9 degrees Celsius, and Gandhinagar at 45.7 degrees Celsius. The Met Department issued heatwave alerts for the Kutch and Saurashtra regions in Gujarat for the next five days, with a red alert in effect for Ahmedabad for two days.
On Wednesday, numerous locations across Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh registered maximum temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius. Barmer in Rajasthan led the charts with 48 degrees Celsius, followed by Sirsa in Haryana at 47.7 degrees Celsius, and Bhatinda in Punjab at 46.6 degrees Celsius, among others.
A red warning has been issued by the Met Department for Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and western Uttar Pradesh, emphasizing the heightened risk of heat-related illnesses and heatstroke across all age groups.
In South India, the IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Puducherry on Thursday, with downpours anticipated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands over the next seven days. Kerala, particularly, faced a severe scenario with a red alert issued for several districts, leading to unfortunate casualties as per reports from the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority.
Furthermore, adverse weather conditions impacted flight operations at the Calicut International Airport, with several Air India Express flights scheduled for arrival and departure from various destinations experiencing delays or cancellations, underscoring the far-reaching consequences of such inclement weather patterns.
