2 days ago
Northwest, central India to reel under heatwaves over next two days: IMD
Northwest and central India will continue to reel under heatwaves to severe heatwave conditions during the next two days, and southwest monsoon is expected to advance over remaining parts of central and east India and some parts of the northwest from 12 to 18 June, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Heatwave conditions are very likely in many places over Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, East Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi from 12-14 June, the IMD said in its latest update. Also, it predicted severe heatwave conditions at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh and East Rajasthan on 12 June and West Rajasthan during 12-14 June. In central India, Madhya Pradesh is likely to witness heat waves from 12-13 June.
"No significant change in maximum temperatures likely over Northwest & Central India during next 2-3 days and gradual fall by 2-4°C thereafter," IMD said.
It predicted that the southwest monsoon would advance over the remaining parts of central and east India and some parts of northwest India from 12 to 18 June and over most parts of northwest India from 19 to 25 June.
According to IMD data, 11 June saw the highest maximum temperature of 48.0°C at Sriganganagar in Rajasthan. In northwestern and central India, the maximum temperatures were in the range of 43-48°C over most places of Rajasthan, Punjab, a few places in Madhya Pradesh and in isolated places in Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and East Uttar Pradesh. They were in the range of 39-43 °C in many places of Bihar, a few places of Gujarat and Vidarbha region, West Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad and Jharkhand.
Also, maximum temperature was markedly above normal (> 5.1°C) at many places over Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, at most places over Arunachal Pradesh, at a few places over Assam, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh; and at isolated places in sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, West Uttar Pradesh, west Rajasthan, east Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh and east Madhya Pradesh.
In Delhi, temperatures are likely to remain in a similar range between 40°C to 44°C till 14 June.
As street vendors see the highest casualties from heatwaves, the IMD, in collaboration with Greenpace India and various informal associations of Delhi, is trying to make weather forecasting more inclusive and accessible. IMD is supporting the effort by co-creating simplified, user-friendly heatwave warnings in Hindi in partnership with community members, ensuring the forecasts are not only understood but are also actionable.
IMD's daily weather forecasts and heatwave alerts are being simplified and translated into easy-to-understand local languages. These messages are now being shared through community WhatsApp groups and being prominently displayed at vending carts, labour chowks and waste segregation points through posters and handwritten notices.
"The aim is to develop a grassroots early warning system by leveraging the trust and reach of street vendors, gig workers, and daily-wage labourers as frontline communicators of weather alerts, " said an IMD official.
Meanwhile, IMD predicted that the monsoon is likely to be in an active phase with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy falls at isolated places over south peninsular India during 12-17 June and over Konkan and Goa during 12-14 June.
