Monsoon advances to Nicobar but respite from heat unlikely
IMD warns of severe heat wave in northwest, central, and east India. Monsoon advancing over Andaman Sea. Heat wave poses risk to health, agriculture, and water scarcity issues.
A severe heat wave is expected to continue over northwest India and spread to central and east India over the next five days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned on Sunday, even as the monsoon has advanced over the South Andaman Sea and Nicobar Islands.
The IMD has issued a red warning for all of northwest India for severe heat until at least May 23, implying that local agencies need to take action to prevent extreme heat-related emergencies. Maximum temperatures on Saturday were in the range of 43-46 degrees Celsius in most places over Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
“If people do not take precautionary measures, exposure to extreme heat can be fatal, particularly exposure to sun,” said M Mohapatra, director general of IMD. “Since 1970, there has been an increase in the duration, intensity and extent of heat waves over India, mainly an impact of climate change.”
In Punjab, Bathinda was the hottest in the state on Sunday at 46.4 degrees Celsius. “This is very unusual. We never had to issue continuously five-to-seven-day red alert warnings in Punjab over the past few years,” said AK Singh, Director of IMD Chandigarh.
With the heat wave conditions coinciding with polling in some northern states, the IMD’s forecast is a cause for concern. Delhi and Haryana will go to polls on May 25, while Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will vote on June 1, the last of the seven-phase exercise.
Polling will also be held in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, some of the other states in grip of hot weather conditions. Elections have already taken place in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Delhi’s Najafgarh recorded the highest temperature in India at 47.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Mangeshpur at 47.7 degrees Celsius. Agra in Uttar Pradesh recorded a peak of 47.4 degrees Celsius, becoming the third hottest station.
Experts said Najafgarh’s readings are largely a result of an urban heat island effect, which caused it to record a peak more than three degrees hotter than the maximum at Safdarjung, the base station for Delhi.
Haryana also sweltered under heat wave conditions, with Mewat recording the highest temperature in the state at 47.2 degrees Celsius.
On Sunday, Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan – often among the hottest --- experienced scorching temperatures, with the mercury soaring to a staggering 46.3°C. The IMD said in the coming days, the weather in the state will remain mainly dry, and the maximum temperature is expected to increase by 1-2 degrees over the next 48 hours with possibility of an intense heat wave at isolated places in the Jodhpur, Bikaner and Shekhawati regions.
Several places in Himachal Pradesh recorded temperatures above 40 degrees with Una recording 44.4 degrees and Bilaspur 42.4 degrees C, six degrees above normal.
In Punjab, Batinda recorded 46.4 degrees Celsius and Patiala 45.
The IMD has advised people to stay hydrated, remain in cool conditions, and seek help immediately if feeling unwell. The heat wave is a risk for livestock, water bodies, transport and power sectors.
Meanwhile, the monsoon has arrived over some parts of Maldives, South Bay of Bengal, Nicobar Islands and South Andaman Sea on Sunday, according to the IMD. The normal date for arrival of monsoon over the Andaman and Nicobar region is May 22.
A low-pressure area is likely to form over Southwest Bay of Bengal around May 22 and move initially north-eastwards, concentrating into a depression over central parts of Bay of Bengal around May 24.
Climate scientist Roxy Knoll wrote on X: “A low pressure system is going to develop in the south Bay of Bengal during 22–23 May. Will it evolve as #CycloneRemal moving to the east coast? Ocean and atmospheric conditions are favourable in south Bay, with 2–3°C warmer sea surface temperatures and an MJO reaching there.”
The monsoon will be crucial for the country’s agriculture sector. Already, hot weather and the knock-on effects of a poor monsoon in 2023 have pushed water storage in 150 centrally monitored reservoirs to their lowest level in five years, worsening water shortages in at least 16 states and shrinking hydro-power generation to a record low, official data showed on Sunday.
Storage in these nationally important water bodies – critical for drinking, irrigation and power generation – is now only one-fourth of their total capacity, having declined consecutively for 32 weeks.
Parched conditions have triggered severe drinking water crises in cities such as Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Chennai and Hyderabad. A prolonged dry spell has triggered Kerala’s worst drought in 40 years, according to the state government. In Hyderabad, Osmania University has ordered its hostels and messes shut due to “water and electricity shortage”, according to a notice by the chief warden, which HT has reviewed.
The water level last week in the 150 reservoirs was a mere 25% of the total live capacity of 179 billion cubic metres (BCM) at 45.2 BCU, according to data from the Central Water Commission. In the corresponding period a year ago, the storage was 58 BCM.
(With inputs from HT Correspondents across bureaux)
