New Delhi [India], April 21 : The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued heatwave warnings for several parts of the country, with the national capital expected to record temperatures between 40-42°C on Tuesday.
Speaking to ANI, IMD Scientist Akhil Srivastava said, "Delhi is expected to record 40-42 Degrees Celsius today. An isolated heatwave warning has been issued for parts of the city for 22th-24th April. Heatwave and warm night alert issued in Haryana."
IMD Scientist further said that heatwave conditions are likely to persist across large parts of north and central India over the coming days, along with a mix of extreme weather alerts in other regions.
"Heatwave conditions are expected to prevail in Punjab & Haryana for the next four days, and in eastern UP for the next five days and from tomorrow in western UP. In Central India, Madhya Pradesh could see heatwave conditions from tomorrow. Chhattisgarh too can witness similar conditions for the next three days," he said.
Srivastava further said a 'Yellow' alert has been issued, with Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal and eastern Bengal also likely to witness heatwave conditions for the next two days. He added that hot and humid weather is expected along coastal southern India, while heavy rainfall has been forecast for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.
"Looking at this, a 'Yellow' alert has been issued. Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal & eastern Bengal could also see heatwave conditions for the next two days. Hot and humid conditions are expected to prevail in the coastal areas of southern India. A heavy rainfall alert has been issued for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya," he added.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), maximum temperatures ranging between 40°C and 45°C were recorded over most parts of Vidarbha, many areas of Marathwada and Madhya Pradesh, and at several places in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
IMD said similar conditions were observed at isolated places over interior Odisha, Rayalaseema, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat, while temperatures remained in the 36°C-40°C range over most other parts of the country, except parts of the western Himalayan region and Northeast India where readings were below 36°C.
The highest maximum temperature was reported at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh at 44.4°C, as stated in the release.
The weather agency added that maximum temperatures were markedly above normal in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. They were appreciably above normal in several parts of Jharkhand, East Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, among others.
IMD further stated that above-normal temperatures were recorded in parts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other regions, while near-normal conditions prevailed over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gujarat, coastal Karnataka and Lakshadweep.