NEW DELHI: The searing heatwave sweeping north, central and south India claimed its first victim on Sunday, as a farmer died of a heat stroke in Rajasthan. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) offered little in the way of hope on Sunday, saying the severe heatwave condition is likely to persist for a couple more days till it abates gradually.
“Due to easterly winds at lower levels over northern parts of the country, the severity of the heatwave is likely to decrease over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh today (Sunday) onwards,” it said.
While it said that the easterly winds might bring down the mercury in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and UP from Sunday onwards, it issued an amber-coded warning for east Rajasthan and Vidarbha in Maharashtra and a yellow coding for Marthawada, Surat and Kutch, UP, Himachal, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi for Monday.
Red, which indicates extremely severe conditions, is followed by amber and yellow. If the maximum temperature of a weather station in the plains crosses 45-degree Celsius for two consecutive days, it is termed as a heat wave. If the temperature goes up to 47°C for two days, the condition is categorized as a severe heat wave. There was some respite in Delhi, with the maximum temperature settling at 42.5°C and the minimum at 30.8-degree Celsius, three notches above the season’s average. The Met had predicted “thundery developments” on Sunday night and partly cloudy sky on Monday.
Over the last week, large parts of the country had been experiencing a severe heat wave. The mercury shot up to a scary 50.8°C in Rajasthan’s Churu on Saturday.
The prevailing heatwave continued to paralyse normal life in Rajasthan on Sunday. While Churu remained the hottest with a maximum of 48.9°C, Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Kota and Barmer recorded 48.6, 48.1, 47.8, 47.5 and 47.2 degrees Celsius, respectively, the Met department said.
Severe heat wave scorched isolated parts of eastern and western UP, while Jammu sizzled at 42.5°C. There was no respite in Punjab and Haryana either with Bhiwani recording a maximum of 45.6°C, even as Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana reported temperatures far above the mean. Banda was the hottest place in UP on Sunday, with the mercury touching 47.4°C. While the summer sun continued to beat down on Jammu on Sunday, light rain is likely in some parts of the city for three days starting Monday.
Some respite for national capital
There was some respite in Delhi, with the maximum temperature settling at 42.5°C and the minimum at 30.8°C, three notches above the season’s average. The Met had predicted “thundery developments” on Sunday.