IMD warns of above-normal heatwave days in May 2024 as India records hottest April since 1901

The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) on Wednesday predicted that the number of heatwave days in May 2024 will be above normal. the weather agency also noted that rainfall during the summer month averaged over India as a whole, is most likely to be normal.

IMD Heatwave Predictions

-Number of heatwave days is likely to be above normal by about 5-8 days in May over south Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Marathwada and Gujarat 

-Number of heatwave days is likely to be above normal by about 2-4 days in May over remaining parts of Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Chhattisgarh

-Number of heatwave days will also be higher than normal by 2-4 days in May over interior Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, north interior Karnataka, Telangana and isolated pockets of north Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh

According to a Reuters report, the eastern part of India, including West Bengal, Odisha, experienced its hottest April on record as heatwave scorched India. This comes as Lok Sabha Elections 2024, after completing two phases, now gears up for the remaining for phases, even as IMD predicts an even hotter May.

The mean temperature in eastern India was 28.12 Celsius in April, the warmest since records began in 1901, with experts blaming a combination of factors.

According to reports, nine people have lost their lives in the heatwave.

In April, West Bengal recorded the most number of heatwave days for the month in the last 15 years, followed by the neighbouring coastal state of Odisha where heat conditions were the worst in nine years.

Notably, IMD also flagged heatwaves in Kerala, a rare occurrence for the southern state. In the coastal state of Kerala, which usually witnesses the onset of monsoon from the South West Monsoon winds, recorded two deaths due to soaring temperatures.

The IMD had predicted a normal monsoon, with more showers in the second half of the season- August, September-than in June, July.