Expect a searing summer with “above normal” temperatures, suggested forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday in most of the northeast, eastern, central India and parts of northwest India.
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What is IMD’s forecast?
Heatwaves during March-May are likely in most parts of India, except for the northeastern States, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and coastal Karnataka, according to an accompanying forecast map by the department.
The weather office expects an enhanced probability of heat waves during the three months ending May 31, according to S.C. Bhan, a senior scientist at India’s meteorological department.
According to the weather department, the temperature in February was recorded at the highest since 1901 and the temperature is expected to soar higher.
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Its adverse effects
This may harm the wheat crop, which is otherwise at a vulnerable stage. Last year, India suffered its hottest March in more than a century, scorching the grain harvest and forcing the government to curb exports.
Prolonged heat could cut India’s wheat production for a second straight year, hurting efforts to control local food costs. India is the second-biggest producer, just after China. Lower output may lead to a continuation of export curbs, keeping the global market tight.
An early onset of hot weather has also pushed electricity demand to near-record levels and led to the farm ministry setting up a panel to monitor the impact on the wheat crop, which is expected to reach a record this year.
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Is it fatal to humans?
In December last year, the World Bank report titled “Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector” said the country is experiencing higher temperatures that arrive earlier and stay far longer.
The report stated that severe heat waves, responsible for thousands of deaths across India over the last few decades, are increasing with alarming frequency and soon the country could become one of the first places in the world to experience heat waves that break the human survivability limit.
Heat Waves
Qualitatively, a heat wave is a condition of air temperature which becomes fatal to the human body when exposed. Quantitatively, it is defined based on the temperature thresholds over a region in terms of actual temperature or its departure from normal.
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