On Monday, Akola recorded its highest day temperature for the season at 47.4 degrees Celsius.
(HT Photo)
The weather bureau issued a ‘red alert’ for heatwave conditions for the entire Vidarbha sub-division, with a specific ‘severe heatwave’ warning for Akola, Nagpur, Chandrapur and Gondia districts for the next three days. On Monday, Akola recorded its highest day temperature for the season at 47.4 degrees Celsius, 5.5 degrees Celsius above normal, while Nagpur, which was the second hottest location in India on Saturday and Sunday, recorded 47 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees above normal.
“No relief can be expected from hot weather for Vidarbha region till May 31,” said ML Sahu, deputy director general of meteorology, India Meteorological Department (Nagpur). “Hot and dry northwesterly winds from Gujarat and Rajasthan region continue to flow over this region, raising temperatures, and till there are pre-monsoon showers or wind pattern changes, the present scenario will continue.”
IMD issues colour coded warnings based on the intensity of weather events in a particular region, ascending from ‘green’ (no warning), ‘yellow’ (be updated), ‘orange’ (be prepared), and ‘red’ (take action). A ‘red alert’ warning directs citizens to take “extreme care needed for vulnerable people”, while the health impact statement read, “Very high likelihood of developing heat illnesses and heat stroke to all ages”.
Of the 11 districts in Vidarbha, the ‘red alert’ has been issued for four, ‘orange alert’ for three (Wardha, Yavatmal and Amravati), and ‘yellow alert’ for the remaining districts (Buldhana, Washim, Gadchiroli, and Bhramapuri).
Meanwhile, a ‘yellow alert’ has been issued for other parts of Maharashtra, including Jalgaon, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Solapur till Wednesday, while Parbhani, Beed, Hingoli and Nanded are likely to witness heatwave conditions in isolated pockets till Wednesday, said IMD.
The Konkan region, which includes Mumbai, witnessed normal temperatures on Monday. The day temperature at the Santacruz weather observatory was 33.7 degrees Celsius, close to the normal-mark, while Colaba recorded 34.2 degrees Celsius, a degree above normal. Moisture levels were high, with Colaba and Santacruz recording 89% and 77% humidity.