Heat wave-like conditions have been predicted in parts of east India over the next four days.
An extreme summer is on the cards for India as 36 weather stations in cities across the country recorded temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius on Monday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) released a list of cities that recorded the highest temperatures today, with the top-ranking city broiling at 44.6 degrees Celsius.
The top spot in the weather office's list today was claimed by Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. Odisha's Baripada recorded a scorching 44.2 degrees while Uttar Pradesh's Jhasi boiled at 43.6 degrees.
Of the 36, 18 weather stations recorded temperatures around 43 degrees while the rest recorded maximum temperatures around 42 degrees Celsuis.
Delhi registered a maximum temperature of 40.6 degrees Celsius, four notches higher than normal. This is the third consecutive day that the maximum temperature settled above 40 degrees Celsius here.
The IMD has forecasted "cloudy weather and light rain on Wednesday" that may provide some relief from the heat in Delhi.
Heat wave-like conditions have been predicted in parts of east India over the next four days and the northwest region of the country over the next two days.
Maharashtra will see a 2-3 degree rise in its maximum temperature over the next three days, according to the IMD. This is after 13 people died of sunstroke at the Maharashtra Bhushan award event held on Sunday.
Other areas that observed heat-wave-like conditions include Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Most parts of Haryana and Punjab today had maximum temperatures settling above 40 degrees. The mercury settled at 41.5 degrees in Hisar while in Punjab, Bathinda recorded a maximum temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius.
The IMD had said that Bihar and Gangetic West Bengal may see "severe" heat wave conditions for four days, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to shut all educational institutions in the state till Saturday. Tripura has also said that all government and state-aided schools will be closed from April 18 to 23 due to heat wave-like conditions in the state. Earlier, Odisha had also issued a similar direction.
Above-normal temperatures along with heat wave conditions are expected in most parts of India till May 31, threatening to lower crop production and hurting the efforts to control food costs.
Speaking to Bloomberg, climate scientist Kieran Hunt said that there are two reasons why India is experiencing frequent and severe heat waves.
"Firstly, the Indian government's definition of a heat wave is fixed, so as background temperatures increase, less and less strong anomalies are required to surpass the heat wave definition threshold. Secondly, it does appear that the weather patterns - high pressure over north India, leading to dry, sunny, clear conditions with weak wind - associated with these anomalies are also increasing in frequency," she said.
According to the IMD, the threshold for a heat wave is met when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, at least 37 degrees Celsius in coastal areas, and at least 30 degrees Celsius in hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius.