The India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday that Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha in Maharashtra are likely to experience heatwave conditions till May 28, the Hindustan Times reported. The weather department said dust and thunderstorms will reduce temperatures in northern India on May 29 and May 30.
Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said that from May 28, the western disturbance will affect northwest India. Easterly winds will also play a role in reducing temperatures. “Dust storm and thunderstorm accompanied with strong gusty winds of 50-60 km per hour are likely to occur on May 29 and 30 over Delhi-NCR [National Capital Region],” Srivastava said.
For plains, a heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is 45 degrees Celsius. A temperature of 47 degrees Celsius or above warrants a severe heatwave alert. Delhi had its hottest day of the season on May 23, with the temperature crossing 46 degrees Celsius.
The national Capital recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius on Monday. In North India, the hottest place on Monday was Churu in Rajasthan, with a maximum temperature of 47.5 degrees Celsius.
On May 24, the weather department issued a heatwave alert for Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha and Telangana over the next five days.
Severe heatwave conditions were reported in isolated pockets over West Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch and Vidarbha on Monday, according to The Indian Express. Heatwave conditions were reported over most places over Vidarbha, at many places over East Uttar Pradesh and West Rajasthan, some parts of Delhi and Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
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