Severe heatwave likely in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and other regions on May 21, India's weather office says

Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions very likely in many pockets of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, among other regions on May 21, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Monday.

"Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions very likely in many pockets of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, West Rajasthan, few pockets of East Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh and isolated pockets of West Madhya Pradesh," India's weather office said in a post on X.

"Heatwave conditions very likely in many/few/isolated pockets of East Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, East Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Saurashtra & Kutch on May 21, 2024," it added.


The IMD issued a severe heatwave red alert warning for the states of Punjab and Haryana and Chandigarh. The IMD has predicted continued heatwave to severe heatwave conditions over the next five days.

Earlier, IMD on Sunday held out no immediate respite from the searing and scalding heatwave as it issued a red alert in Delhi informing that the temperatures can range between 28 to 44 degrees Celsius.

Senior IMD scientist Naresh Kumar said that the current situation will prevail for the next week.

"Generally, May is considered the hottest month. If there is no rainfall activity in North India, then the temperature normally crosses 45 degrees Celsius. It is forecast that this situation will prevail for the next week. This scenario will continue for the next 5 days in Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana. We have issued a red alert. A heatwave situation will exist in UP for the next 3-4 days. Heatwaves will also prevail in North MP. We have issued an orange alert for the region," he said.