Hyderabad: The soaring temperatures, along with severe heatwave conditions, continue in the northern part of the country with places in Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana witnessing record-breaking temperatures as it crosses the 45-degree Celsius mark in the last few days. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday predicted severe heatwave conditions that are likely to persist in the National Capital, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab during the next few days till May 24.
According to the IMD, heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely to persist in many pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi from May 20 to 24, West Rajasthan from May 21 to 24, East Rajasthan on May 22 to 24, in some parts of West Uttar Pradesh on May 20 and 21 and East Uttar Pradesh on May 20.
Similarly, heatwave conditions have also been predicted for parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh this week.
According to the IMD's data, this week, the temperature is expected to soar to 45 degrees Celsius in Delhi on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday while it recorded more than 47 degrees Celsius in at least eight places across the country with Najafgarh in the capital recording 47.8 degrees, making it the warmest place in the country for the second time in the last three days. In Rajasthan, the highest temperature was recorded in Sriganganagar and Anta at 46.7 degrees Celsius while Nuh was the hottest in Haryana at a blistering high of 47.2 degrees Celsius. Similarly, Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded a high of 44.2 degrees Celsius, along with a few isolated areas, recording close to 45 degrees Celsius.
According to the weather office, in the central part of the country, Madhya Pradesh's Datia recorded 47.5 degrees Celsius while Uttar Pradesh's Agra recorded 47.7 degrees and Jhansi recorded 47.2 degrees.
According to the weather body, the major reason behind this rise in temperature is due to the weakening of El Nino effect in the Pacific ocean. Also, the hot winds coming from the country's western neighbourhood such as Pakistan and Afghanistan towards India have also been making a significant contribution in a heatwave that is prevailing across North India.
Rainfall in these states
The IMD predicts heavy rain in parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry this week. According to the weather office, parts of Lakshadweep will also receive heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday while light to moderate rain has been forecasted in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the next seven days. Similarly, it also predicts rainfall in the northeastern region.
"Isolated heavy rainfall likely in Sikkim from May 19 to 21, Arunachal Pradesh on May 19. Very heavy rainfall will also likely in Assam and Meghalaya on May 19 & 20." Along with it, it also predicts thunderstorms with light to moderate showers accompanied by lightning and gusty winds for West Bengal and Sikkim till May 24.
Read more: IMD Issues Severe Heatwave Over North West, East And Central India
