NEW DELHI: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for northwest and central India, as well as adjoining areas in east India due to the persistence of severe heatwave conditions throughout this week. The IMDs health advisory warned on Thursday that heatwave conditions could lead to heat-related illnesses. It also urged farmers to protect crops by using light and frequent irrigation.
The Banda town in Uttar Pradesh has been recorded as the hottest area in this season, with temperatures soaring to 48.2°C in the last two days, while Delhi broke a 14-year record for the warmest night with a minimum temperature of 31.9°C on Thursday.
Night temperatures in several areas of Odisha, Vidarbha, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, east Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have been recorded above normal by 3.1°C to 5°C. Other regions in the northwest, central, and eastern parts of the country recorded above-normal temperatures ranging from 1.6°C to 3.0°C.
Maximum temperatures in these regions are currently in the range of 40 to 47°C. Certain places, such as Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and coastal Andhra Pradesh have recorded temperatures above normal by about 5.1°C.
The IMD has urged extra caution for vulnerable individuals, and those with pre-existing health conditions.
In its Agromet advisories, the IMD has recommended providing light and frequent irrigation to vegetable like tomatoes, brinjals, moong, fruit orchards, onion nurseries, and cotton as well as summer fodder crops in heatwave-affected areas.
The IMD has indicated in its daily bulletin that there will be no significant changes in maximum temperatures in northwest and central India during the week and in east India until May 26.
Meanwhile, conditions are favourable for the further advance of the southwest monsoon into additional parts of the southeast Arabian Sea, Comorin area, southwest and southeast Bay of Bengal, the remaining parts of the Andaman Sea, and some more regions of the east-central Bay of Bengal over the next three to four days.