19 May,2024 04:06 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a red alert in Delhi informing that the temperatures can range between 28 to 44 degrees Celsius, reported the ANI.
According to the ANI, senior IMD scientist Naresh Kumar said that the current situation will prevail for the next week.
"Generally, May is considered the hottest month. If there is no rainfall activity in North India, then the temperature normally crosses 45 degrees Celsius. It is forecast that this situation will prevail for the next week. This scenario will continue for the next 5 days in Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana. We have issued a red alert. A heatwave situation will exist in UP for the next 3-4 days. Heatwaves will also prevail in North MP. We have issued an orange alert for the region," he said, as per the ANI.
Meanwhile, severe heatwave conditions, exceeding a blistering 45 degrees Celsius, were observed in some parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday, the news agency reported on Sunday.
IMD said that Barmer in Rajasthan experienced a scorching high of 46.9 degrees Celsius. Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh also recorded a searing 46.9 degrees Celsius.
Surendranagar and Deesa in Gujarat also recorded temperatures ranging between 45 and 45.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
Southwest monsoon makes onset over Nicobar Islands: IMD
The Southwest monsoon, the lifeline of India's farm-based economy, on Sunday made its onset over the Nicobar Islands, the southernmost region of the country, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, according to the PTI.
"Southwest monsoon has advanced into some parts of the Maldives, and the Comorin area and some parts of the South Bay of Bengal, Nicobar Islands and South Andaman Sea on Sunday," the weather office said, the news agency reported.
The annual rainfall phenomenon is expected to reach Kerala by May 31.
The date of monsoon onset over Kerala has varied widely over the last 150 years, the earliest being May 11 in 1918, and the most delayed being June 18 in 1972, according to IMD data.
The rain-bearing system arrived in the southern state on June 8 last year, May 29 in 2022, June 3 in 2021 and June 1 in 2020.
Last month, the IMD had forecast above-normal rain in the monsoon season in India with favourable La Nina conditions, cooling of equatorial Pacific Ocean, expected to set in by August-September. La Nina conditions help in a good monsoon season over India.
Large parts of the country are battling a brutal heatwave with maximum temperatures touching 48 degrees Celsius, shattering records in several states and severely impacting health and livelihoods. Southern India experienced heatwave spells in April.
The crippling heat is straining power grids and drying up water bodies triggering drought-like conditions in parts of the country. A prediction of above-normal monsoonal rainfall, therefore, comes as a huge relief to the fast-developing South Asian nation.
The monsoon is critical for India's agricultural landscape, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it. It is also crucial for replenishing reservoirs critical for drinking water, apart from power generation across the country.
June and July are considered the most important monsoon months for agriculture because most of the sowing for the kharif crop takes place during this period.
(with ANI and PTI inputs)
