Several parts of the country witnessed heatwaves in the past two days, with severe conditions recorded in the Saurashtra-Kutch region of Gujarat and the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
The India Meteorological Department also predicted a heatwave in Mumbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad on Friday and Saturday, The Indian Express reported. Heatwave conditions were also reported from isolated parts of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra.
In many parts of North India, daytime temperatures were above normal by more than 5.1 degrees Celsius, the Hindustan Times reported.
The weather agency declares a heatwave for a region when the temperature crosses 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees Celsius in coastal areas and 30 degrees Celsius in the hills.
Gujarat
Severe heatwave conditions prevailed in some pockets of Gujarat, including parts of Ahmedabad, Dessa, Surat and Anand, the IMD said. Some pockets in the Saurashtra-Kutch region, including Porbandar, Rajkot, Gir Somnath, Surendranagar, Bhavnagar and Kutch, also reported severe heatwaves in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Rajkot recorded a maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius, the highest in Gujarat for the day, The Indian Express reported.
Ahmedabad, however, saw some relief on Thursday, with the mercury dropping to 38.9 degrees Celsius from 41.4 degrees Celsius on the previous day, The Times of India reported. The maximum temperature on Thursday, however, was still 3.8 degrees above normal.
Maharashtra
The IMD said that heatwave conditions will prevail in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad on Friday and Saturday, The Indian Express reported. This was the third time in a fortnight that the weather agency made such a declaration.
The maximum temperature in Mumbai is likely to cross 38 degrees on Friday, and is expected to be at 37 degrees on Saturday, the weather agency said.
An anti-cyclone system developing over the sea is likely to lead to a spike in temperatures, The Indian Express quoted Bikram Singh, director of IMD Mumbai, as saying.
The city of Amravati in the Vidarbha region was the hottest in the country on Thursday, with the temperature rising to 42.2 degrees Celsius, which was 6.8 degrees above normal, The Times of India reported.
The maximum temperature in Akola was only marginally lower at 42 degrees Celsius.
In Nagpur, the mercury soared to 39 degrees Celsius, the highest in this season till now, according to The Times of India.
North India
Daytime temperature were above normal by over 5.1 degrees Celsius in parts of Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, West Rajasthan and East Rajasthan on Wednesday, the Hindustan Times reported.
The maximum temperatures in Delhi ranged from 35 to 38 degrees Celsius.
“Such heatwave episodes in March are normal and we had forecast it well in advance,” the newspaper quoted IMD Director General M Mohapatra as saying.
However, the IMD said that there may be rainfall in Punjab from March 14 to 16 due to a fresh western disturbance, The Tribune reported.
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