Relief in Sight: IMD forecasts abatement of heatwave conditions in north, northwest India
IMD Heatwave Update: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday announced that persistent heatwave conditions plaguing north and northwest India since the onset of June were likely to subside by Thursday. This respite comes as welcome news for regions such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, and Rajasthan, which have been grappling with severe heatwave conditions throughout May and June, culminating in an unusually scorching summer across the plains of North India.
As per IMD update on heatwave, the conditions will persist in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Western Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Vidarbha in Maharashtra until the middle of the week. However, thereafter, a marginal decline in day temperatures is expected due to the influx of western disturbances, effective from Tuesday through Thursday.
On Sunday, maximum temperatures soared across numerous places in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the vicinity of Delhi, with readings exceeding 44 degrees Celsius. New Delhi registered a scorching 46.3 degrees Celsius, while other regions like Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh experienced blistering heat as well. Even hill stations like Shimla recorded unusually high temperatures, underscoring the severity of the heatwave.
Meanwhile, despite being a fortnight into the monsoon season, the northern limit of the monsoon passed through several regions in India, including Navsari, Jalgaon, Amravati, Chandrapur, Bijapur, Sukma, Malkangiri, Vizianagaram, and Islampur. However, as of Sunday, the all-India rainfall remained deficient at 18 percent below normal for this time of the season. Several states and union territories witnessed varying levels of rainfall, with some regions experiencing significant shortfalls.
The sluggish progress of the monsoon, particularly in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, can be attributed to its delayed onset. While the Bay of Bengal branch of the Southwest monsoon initially advanced swiftly, it slowed down considerably last week, contributing to prolonged heatwave conditions in these areas.
However, there are promising signs of monsoon advancement towards the end of the week, with the IMD indicating favourable conditions for its progress into remaining parts of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, and Bihar over the next 4 to 5 days.
In addition to the anticipated relief from scorching temperatures, the IMD has also issued warnings of thunderstorms, lightning, and extremely heavy rainfall over Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim until June 20. Sikkim, in particular, has already witnessed a surplus of rainfall, with multiple landslides occurring amid the monsoon deluge.