It seems as though summer is here already as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heatwave alert for the Konkan and Kutch regions of western and northwest India, as soaring temperatures of 37-39°C are expected in the area.
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Earliest heatwave alert issued
Officials said this was the earliest a heatwave alert was issued for swathes of regions. However, this alert comes much earlier than usual, as heatwave alerts in India usually begin in March, and may suggest that India could skip the spring season entirely and enter directly into summer.
Large parts of west and northwest India, as well as many Himalayan towns, have recorded temperatures 5-10°C higher than what is normal for this time of the year. The Capital had a maximum of 31.5°C, and the day temperature is likely to remain at these levels for another three to four days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
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Maximum temperature recorded in Feb
Earlier, a report revealed that in about seven states — Punjab, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand — the maximum temperatures seen in recent days, surpassed those usually recorded in mid-March.
Delhi on Monday witnessed its hottest February day in two years, and the warmest day for the first week of the month since at least 2013. The weather station at Safdarjung, which is representational of Delhi’s weather, logged temperature six degrees above the normal for this time of year – while the station at Pitampura was the Capital’s hottest location with a high of 29.8°C.
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Going by this data, March will naturally be hotter than usual too, and hence, people in most parts of India should brace for a hotter summer.
A heat wave is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season.
It has the potential to cover a large area, exposing a high number of people to hazardous heat. To be considered a heat wave, the temperatures have to be outside the historical averages for a given area.
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