Above-normal temperatures seen in April-June: IMD

Most parts of India, except the peninsular and northwest regions, are likely to see abovenormal maximum temperatures from April to June and there is a possibility of El Niño impact in July, August and September, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

The weather department has also predicted an increase in the number of heatwave days during April-June, particularly in the central, east, and northwest India.“A significantly higher number of heatwave days are predicted over parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana,” IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.

“Normal to below-normal maximum temperatures are likely” in south peninsular India and some parts of northwest India, he said. “The El Niño will continue till the fall season,” Mohapatra said.

El Niño is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, which during the monsoon season can cause deficiency in rainfall in the Indian subcontinent.

The IMD chief, however, hinted that it does not necessarily mean that the monsoon rainfall will be below normal, by adding that there are other factors that affect monsoon such as the Indian Ocean Dipole.

Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is a weather phenomenon similar to El Niño; it’s often called Indian Nino. A positive IOD usually leads to above-normal monsoon rainfall in the Indian subcontinent.

The weather office said average rainfall over the country as a whole is most likely to be normal (88-112% of LPA) in April. Normal to above-normal rainfall is expected over most parts of the northwest, central and peninsular India this month whereas belownormal rainfall is likely over east and northeast India and some areas over the west coast.