India heatwave alert! IMD predicts 2024 will be hottest year on record; 'red alert' in many parts
Even the hill stations such as Ooty in Tamil Nadu and Matheran in Maharashtra face the brunt if searing heat with maximum temperatures touching 29.4 degrees Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius, respectively. Photograph:( X )
Story highlights
The IMD has predicted a persistent rise in temperatures in May, leading to severe heat wave conditions. The frequency of heat wave days is expected to surpass normal levels this time in the upcoming months, with the condition prevailing more in north and central India
The IMD has predicted a persistent rise in temperatures in May, leading to severe heat wave conditions. The frequency of heat wave days is expected to surpass normal levels this time in the upcoming months, with the condition prevailing more in north and central India
Parts of India are facing scorching heat, with many regions on heat wave alert amid rising temperatures. Last week, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a “red alert” for West Bengal and Odisha for the month of May. An “orange alert” was also raised for the sub-continent including West Bengal, Bihar, and interior Karnataka.
The Met Department has predicted “heat wave to severe heat wave” conditions in eastern and southern India for the next five days.
Indian states scorched amid heat wave conditions
On Tuesday (Apr 30), Kalaikunda in West Bengal recorded a maximum temperature of 47.2 degrees Celsius, the highest ever in April anywhere in the country. As per IMD, Kalaikunda’s maximum temperature of 47.2 degrees Celsius was 10.4 degrees above the normal for the season. Tuesday’s rise in temperature is seen as the prevalence of severe heatwave conditions over the Gangetic West Bengal region.
Even the hill stations such as Ooty in Tamil Nadu and Matheran in Maharashtra are facing the brunt of searing heat, with maximum temperatures touching 29.4 degrees Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Also Read | Godrej family to split 127-year-old business empire. Here's the details
According to the Met Department, 29.4 degrees Celsius was the highest-ever maximum temperature recorded at Ooty in April, surpassing the 28.5 degrees Celsius recorded on 29 April 1986.
Watch | India: Heatwave warnings issued for several states
At Matheran, the temperature of 37 degrees Celsius was the fourth-highest maximum temperature ever recorded in the region.
The hill station which is located about 90 km from Mumbai, had recorded the highest-ever maximum temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius in February 1979, followed by 37.4 degrees Celsius in April 1975 and 37.2 degrees Celsius in April 1978.
2023 was the “hottest year on record”, 2024 to break this record
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) confirmed last month that 2023 was the “hottest year on record” when the global average near-surface temperature soared to 1.45 degrees Celsius. This temperature was way above the pre-industrial baseline.
Also Read | WATCH: Women protesters in Manipur block Indian Army convoy, reportedly free 11 'miscreants’
“The global mean near-surface temperature in 2023 was 1.45 ± 0.12 degree centigrade above the pre-industrial 1850–1900 average. 2023 was the warmest year in the 174-year observational record. This broke the record of the previous warmest years, 2016 at 1.29 ± 0.12 degrees centigrade above the 1850–1900 average and 2020 at 1.27±0.13 degrees centigrade,” the WMO said in March this year.
Both IMD and WMO are of the opinion that 2024 will break new records as the warmest year. The IMD has predicted a persistent rise in temperatures in May, leading to severe heatwave conditions. The frequency of heat wave days is expected to surpass normal levels this time, in the upcoming months, prevailing more in North and Central India.
(With inputs from agencies)
