The third wave of Covid-19 is likely to hit India at the end of August and chances are that it will not be as intense as the second wave, Dr Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research, has told NDTV.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Dr Panda said, “There would be a nationwide third wave but that does not mean that it would be as high or as intense as the second wave.”

According to him, four things could lead to the third wave. The first of these is an instance where the immunity acquired in the first and second wave due drop. "If that goes down, it could lead to a third wave," he said.

Secondly, there could be a variant that can bypass the immunity acquired. Third – the new variant may not be able to bypass immunity but can circulate fast in the population.

Fourth – if the restrictions are lifted prematurely by states, it could lead to a fresh surge, Dr Panda said.

Asked if the variant involved could be Delta Plus, he said both Delta and Delta Plus have swept the country and "I'm not expecting any more public health havoc from the Delta variant".

Earlier this week, the top doctors' body in the country, the Indian Medical Association, said the third wave is "inevitable and imminent", pointing out that "in many parts of the country both the government and public are complacent and engaged in mass gatherings without following Covid protocols".

The government has also said the people are taking predictions about the second wave about as seriously as "weather predictions".

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday warned nations that they have entered the early stages of the third wave of Covid-19.

The health expert sounded alarms over the fresh rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths, which were declining as a result of increasing vaccination rates in Europe and North America in the recent months, UN News said.

“Unfortunately…we are now in the early stages of a third wave”, he was quoted as saying by UN News.

Ghebreyesus said that the virus was evolving continuously and into more transmissible variants.

“The Delta variant is now in more than 111 countries and we expect it to soon be the dominant Covid-19 strain circulating worldwide if it isn’t already,” he said.

The WHO chief also noted that the cases are being "fuelled by increased social mobility and the inconsistent use of proven public health and social measures", and called out the "shocking disparity" in vaccine distribution.

"We expect it to soon be the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating worldwide if it isn't already," the WHO chief had said.