Twenty-one cities across five states in India registered temperature of 42 degrees Celsius and above today. National capital Delhi will have to grapple with the heat wave for the next three days. Besides Delhi, it will sear cities across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and even in Odisha.
The spike in the first week of April involved major deviations at every city, ranging from above three degrees to 6.9 degrees.
The met office indicated the decrease in wind speed has a role to play, especially in Delhi.
“The predominant surface wind speed will likely be 8-10 kmph during the morning. The wind speed will gradually decrease thereafter becoming 4-6 kmph from the southeast direction during the afternoon.
It will increase becoming less than 8 kmph from the southeast direction during evening and night,” read a communique from the met office.
The heat in Rajasthan’s Barmer has set new records. The maximum temperature on Sunday was 45.6 degrees Celsius – the highest ever in the first week of April. The departure is 6.8 degrees above normal.
The met department said heat wave conditions are likely at isolated to few pockets over Gujarat during 6-10 April with severe heat wave conditions at isolated pockets over Saurashtra and Kutch.
Heat wave conditions are also likely over Rajasthan in the same period.
Heat wave condition is very likely in isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and West Uttar Pradesh, the met office said.