Environment

Heat Wave Engulfs North

by Winnifred-Dmonte
May 29, 2019 16:31

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As the end of May approaches every year, India desperately awaits for the much-needed monsoon so as to cool themselves from the scorching heat. Last year, monsoon crossed the Kerala border on 29th May. However, this year, monsoon has stalled in the southeast Bay of Bengal around the Andaman Sea for last ten days. This year, the onset of monsoon is expected until June 6, which means the heat will dominate until the first week of June. Chandrapur in Maharashtra has recorded the highest temperature across the country on Tuesday at 47.8 degrees Celsius. From Delhi to Puducherry, several parts of India have been gripped by heat wave. The national capital and the other parts in the country are unlikely to get a respite from the scorching heat this week, the weather office has predicted.

In Delhi, mercury may go up to 45 degrees Celsius. The Weather Channel’s forecasts for the upcoming week suggest that the temperature across India may soar further due to hot and dry northwesterly winds. Except for the northeastern states, the western Indian Himalayan states and Kerala, the rest of the country is likely to see the mercury rise above 40 degree Celsius. Maximum temperatures of 45 degree Celsius or more are likely to persist over Rajasthan and Inland Maharashtra. Moreover, temperatures in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh may also breach the 45 degree Celsius threshold after Thursday. Senior official of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre said, “When the day temperature breaches normal mark by five or more degrees it is categorized as heat wave. The city is likely to have heat wave conditions from May 29 till at least first week of June". A western disturbance that will reach Delhi by May 31 will have no effect on its hot weather, the official added. As temperatures shot up in several states, wildfires were also reported in the forests of Uttarakhand.