Heat record will be broken this year, heat wave will last more days than normal in North India, IMD chief told in which states the condition will be bad.
Delhi. A senior official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday that this year the heat wave is likely to last for more days than normal in the northern parts of the Indus-Gangetic plains, eastern coastal states, western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and their adjoining areas. IMD Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said that there are some areas where from the meteorological point of view there is a possibility of extreme heat every year. The temperature in these areas is likely to go above 40 degrees Celsius, this can happen even in areas where heat waves do not occur.
“Some areas are weather sensitive,” he said. For example, in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, the normal temperature at this time of the year is around 41 to 42 degrees Celsius. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, by May the normal temperature reaches 40 to 44 degrees Celsius. Mahapatra said, “Therefore we should be prepared for such days with high temperatures.”
When asked about the steps being taken by the IMD to help those who are most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, Mahapatra said the department has created ‘Whatsapp’ groups to provide information to people living in the open, including street vendors and farm labourers. Apart from this, information boards have also been installed on which information is given about the heat conditions and the measures that can be taken to prevent them.
He said, “Our aim is to reach every person and provide information about IMD’s weather forecast. We also provide information through government channels. These also include the Common Alert Protocol of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), through which any person with a mobile phone can get this information.
Mahapatra said that there are some areas where people do not have mobile phones or they do not get IMD warnings immediately. He said there is still scope to reach out to people who may be affected by the heat through new or traditional methods. Citing an example from his address at the ‘Global Heat and Cooling Forum’ on Monday, he said, “Last year, organizations of rickshaw pullers, street vendors and domestic workers in Delhi had contacted us and requested for information. We informed the secretaries of their organization through WhatsApp, who then passed the information on to their members.
Information boards were also put up, on which the heat conditions and the steps that could be taken to avoid it were explained. According to Mahapatra, every year, especially in April and May and June before the monsoon, the temperature is likely to be high, but there can be some difference in it from year to year. He said that to deal with the annual and daily fluctuations in temperature, IMD issues heat wave forecast a season in advance.
After this, an extended range forecast for the next four weeks is also issued every Thursday. He said that during the summer months, a seven-day warning is also issued every day at the district level. The IMD had released its first forecast of heat wave and summer temperatures for March, April and May by the end of February. It was later updated for April, May and June on the last day of March.
According to the forecast, heat wave conditions may occur at many places between April and June. Especially in the southern parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and their adjoining eastern areas like Chhattisgarh and Telangana, it is likely to have more impact. The Meteorological Department said that heat wave conditions may also form in the northern part of the Indus-Gangetic plains. These include Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, apart from southern parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, some areas of Gujarat and some parts of northern Maharashtra.
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