Monday, 23 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
A searing heatwave gripped parts of India, with maximum temperatures ranging from 40 degrees Celsius to 46 degrees Celsius in many areas. This ongoing heatwave affecting parts of Odisha, Jharkhand, and Gangetic West Bengal is the second heatwave spell this month. The first spell scorched parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat.
Baripada and Boudh in Odisha recorded a maximum temperature of 45.2 degrees Celsius, Midnapore and Bankura in West Bengal recorded 44.5 degrees Celsius and 44.6 degrees Celsius, respectively. Daltonganj and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand registered 43.6 degrees Celsius and 43.5 degrees Celsius, respectively, while Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh reported 43 degrees Celsius. In view of the rising temperatures, the district administration of Patna has changed the timings of schools.
A woman covers a child for protection against the scorching sun on a hot summer day, in Mumbai. Mumbai recorded the maximum temperature in last 10 years this month. The threshold for a heatwave is met when the maximum temperature of a weather station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in the coastal areas, and 30 degrees in the hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 notches. A severe heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature exceeds 6.4 notches.
Mirage appears on the Red road on a hot Summer day, in Calcutta. Amid the prevailing but weakening El Nino conditions, the IMD had earlier warned of extreme heat during the April-June period when around a billion people are expected to exercise their franchise during the seven-phase general elections, heightening concerns about vulnerability to heatwaves. The Met office said four to eight heatwave days are expected in different parts of the country in April against the normal of one to three days. As the summer heat refuses to abate with day temperatures in Calcutta hovering around 40 degrees Celsius, lawyers have been exempted from wearing 'advocates' gown' at the Calcutta High Court.
Tourists holding umbrellas visit the Taj Mahal on a hot summer day. The areas predicted to see more heatwave days are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Some places may record over 20 days of heatwave. In view of the hot weather in Bengaluru, sunstroke wards have been opened in most hospitals.
People purchase clay pots from a roadside shop during the summer season, in Agra. The intense heat could strain power grids and result in water shortages in parts of India.
A traffic police personnel wears an AC helmet to help beat the scorching heat, in Vadodara.
