Heatwave to continue in Ludhiana till Thursday: IMD
The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Chandigarh centre on Tuesday issued a yellow alert for heatwave in the district till Thursday. Ludhiana clocked 44° Celsius on Monday, and as per the IMD's weekly forecast, the maximum temperature is expected to stay above 40° Celsius till June 16 and may even touch 45° Celsius in the week.
While there is no prediction of a significant change in the weather after three days, IMD's Chandigarh centre director Surender Paul said there were some chances of light thunderstorms and even light rain at isolated places which will bring the temperatures down near the normal if not equal or below.
He also said that the heatwave wasn't expected to soar into the severe category. 'The temperature, after crossing 40°C, doesn't move up rapidly. So a more intense heatwave is very less likely,' he said.
The soaring temperature is also expected to have some effect on paddy transplantation. 'As the temperature has risen a lot, the evaporation rate wouldincrease affecting the level of water required to be maintained in the fields for transplantation. More water will be required to maintain that level in this weather,' said Punjab Agricultural University's (PAU) rice expert Buta Singh Dhillon. He also pointed out that such severe day-time temperatures would make it hard for the labour involved in transplantation.
'While translation hasn't reached a swing as of now as it started yesterday in Ludhiana, people may want to wait for the temperature to come down a little before starting,' he added.
A heatwave is a phenomenon when the maximum temperature crosses 40°C and is also higher than the normal maximum temperature for the day by over 4.6°C. When the maximum temperature rises 6.4°C above the normal maximum temperature for a given day, it is said to be a severe heatwave.
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