NEW DELHI: The India Meterological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said that most parts of the country are likely to record above-normal maximum temperatures in the month of May.
The IMD, however, stated that some parts of northwest and central India and adjoining areas of northeast peninsular India are likely to record normal to below-normal maximum temperatures. Normally, heat wave will prevail over the northern plains, central India and adjoining areas of peninsular India for about three days in May, the IMD said.
The weather department said that the number of heat wave days is likely to be above normal by about five to eight days over south Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Marathwada and Gujarat region and two to four days over remaining parts of Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Chhattishgarh, interior Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, north interior Karnataka and Telangana and isolated pockets of north Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh.
Giving a probabilistic forecast for rainfall during the month of May, the IMD said that rainfall during this month, averaged over the country as a whole, is most likely to be normal, that is 91-109 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA). The LPA of rainfall over the country during April, based on data from 1971 to 2020, is about 61.4 mm.
Normal to above-normal rainfall is likely over most parts of northwest India, some parts of central, peninsular and northeast India, the IMD said, adding that below-normal rainfall is likely in remaining parts of the country except for some regions.
Speaking about rainfall activity in the month of April, the IMD DG said that rainfall over South Peninsular India (12.6 mm) was the fifth lowest since 1901 and the second lowest since 2001.
The maximum temperature in the month of April was quite high, the IMD said, adding that the temperature was between 34 to 45 degrees Celius in different parts of the country except the western Himalayan region, in Jammu and Kashmir, and adjoining areas.
The Met department said that the minimum temperature was also quite high and accordingly the mean temperature was influenced by the maximum temperature. The average minimum temperature (22 degrees Celsius) in April in east and northeast India was the highest since 1901, the IMD said.
Speaking of natural disasters in April 2024, 32 people reportedly died in April 2024. Hailstorms led to damage of crops, reported in the Amaravati district of Maharashtra, on April 10 and in the Karnal district of Haryana on April 19. Heavy rains and landslides took place on April 25 in the Dibang Valley district (Himachal Pradesh) and at Akola, Buldhana, Jalgaon and Washim (Maharashtra) on April 10, the IMD said.
The IMD said that heat waves led to death in Balasore, Boudh, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur in Odisha on April 14-15, Banka and Vaishali in Bihar on April 23-24 and Kannur and Palakkad in Kerala on April 28.
The weather office said that there was no major heat wave recorded in March 2024 while two spells of heat wave were recorded in April, one between April 5-7 over eastern India and South East Peninsular India and the other between April 15-30 over Odisha and West Bengal, which expanded to Bihar, intensified and expanded to Bihar Jharkhand, Southeast Peninsular India and interior Karnataka from April 24.
This was due to longer dry spells with the absence of thunder storm or rain. Moreover anticyclone persisted on most dates at lower levels over west-central Bay and adjoining eastern coasts of India which caused cut off of sea breeze over Odisha and West Bengal on most days, the IMD said. (ANI)