Several parts of India simmer amid heatwave conditions
Most parts of India experienced heatwave conditions on Tuesday as temperatures soared even higher. Odisha's Baripada and Jharsuguda and Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur and Prayagraj were the hottest places in the country with a maximum temperature of 44.2 degrees Celsius. Among these places, Baripada was the most humid at 74%. At 40.4 degrees Celsius, Delhi's temperature was four notches higher than normal.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that this summer would be hotter due to an unprecedented heatwave caused by a weak western disturbance. It issued an orange alert in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal for "dangerously high" temperatures. It also warned of heatwave conditions in Jharkhand, Odisha, Sikkim, and UP and predicted that heatwave conditions would persist over eastern India until Friday.
Delhi records over 40 degrees Celsius for four consecutive days
Notably, Tuesday was the fourth consecutive day that the maximum temperature in Delhi reached above 40 degrees Celsius. Pitampura and Pusa areas in the national capital saw heatwave conditions with maximum temperatures of 41.9 and 41.6 degrees Celsius, respectively. However, the IMD predicts some relief from the heat on Wednesday, with cloudy weather and light rain over the plains, low and mid hills.
Western disturbance active over western Himalayan region
The weather body also predicted light rain in the northwestern plains from Tuesday onward as a western disturbance was active over the western Himalayan region. Earlier, the IMD said most parts of India will face above-normal temperatures from April to June, except parts of the northwest and peninsular regions. Most parts of central, east, and northwest India will see heatwave days during this period.
Temperature above 40 degrees Celsius in Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal
In West Bengal, Bankura recorded a maximum temperature of 43.7 degrees Celsius while Kolkata's maximum temperature stood at 40 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature stayed above 40 degrees Celsius in Haryana and Punjab. Rajasthan's Chittorgarh simmered at 43.2 degrees Celsius.
Bihar's Patna was the second-hottest place in India on Tuesday
Furthermore, the IMD sounded an orange alert on Tuesday, forecasting severe heatwave conditions in Bihar's Patna, Banka, Jamui, Nawada, Aurangabad, Supaul, and several other districts for the next two days. Apart from this, a yellow warning was issued for Begusarai, Nalanda, Gaya, Arwal, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Buxar, Khagaria, and Munger districts. The temperature recorded at Patna airport on Tuesday stood at 44.1 degrees Celsius.