Heatwave ends in India, mercury expected to decline; rain alert in six states

RK Jenamani, Scientist, IMD said the heatwave has ended in the entire country today and the temperature will decrease and it will be cloudy.

New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said that the heatwave has ended in the country and the temperature will decrease from Wednesday onwards.

"Heatwave has ended in entire India today. From today temperature will decrease and it will be cloudy. We have issued Orange Alert for hailstorms, storms and rain in Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Chandigarh. There is a possibility of heavy rains in the hilly areas for the next 2-3 days. There are chances of storms in East India as well," RK Jenamani, Scientist, IMD, was quoted as having said by ANI.

The weather department has predicted that light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms will occur over Western Himalayan Region. "Light/moderate rainfall at most places with a thunderstorm, lightning and occasional gusty winds/squall very likely over Western Himalayan Region and rainfall at many places with thunderstorm, lightning and occasional gusty winds/squall very likely over plains of Northwest India mainly during 24th to 26th May with maximum intensity on May 24 and 25," IMD said.

This will bring the maximum temperature down to 35 degrees Celsius in the national capital on Thursday. Below-normal maximum temperatures are predicted until June 30. A heat wave scorched parts of Delhi on Tuesday with seven of the 22 weather stations in the national capital recording maximum temperatures above the 45-degrees Celsius mark.

The heat sent the peak power demand in Delhi up to 6,916 MW on Tuesday, the highest so far this season, officials said. The city had recorded a peak power demand of 7,695 MW last summer and this year it might reach 8,100 MW, they said. The maximum temperature at a few places, including Najafgarh (46.7 degrees Celsius), breached the 46-degree mark for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.

The threshold for a heat wave is met when the maximum temperature of a 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 degrees. Earlier this month, the weather office had predicted below-normal maximum temperatures and fewer heatwave days in northwest India in May.

With the IMD anticipating a slight delay in the arrival of the southwest monsoon, the maximum temperatures are likely to remain above normal for a longer-than-usual period. Heat waves in India are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, with over 90 per cent of the country in the "extremely cautious" category or "danger zone" of their impacts, according to a study conducted at the University of Cambridge.