Hot weather: Expect relief from searing heat by Friday

NEW DELHI: Searing weather is gripping large parts of the country, with temperatures soaring past 46 degrees C in parts of Maharashtra as uninterrupted solar radiation is taking its toll, but some rain-bearing clouds can cool the country by the end of this week.

Bhira in Maharashtra was India’s hottest place at 46.5 degrees on Tuesday, while temperatures above 40 degrees were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana, data from the India Meteorological Department ( IMD) shows.

The weather office said there may be some relief by Friday. "A western disturbance is approaching the western Himalayan region, the intensity of which will become strong by 31 March. We are expecting that it will also affect the plains on 1 April," a senior scientist at IMD said.

While many parts of the country are witnessing soaring temperatures, only a few places satisfy the condition for heat wave, the official added.

The temperature of a place must reach at least 40 degrees Celsius to declare heat wave, according to the national weather forecaster. Western disturbance, which is a rain bearing weather system, is likely to bring rainfall in the western Himalayan region of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

The winds from the region are likely to affect the plains, which include regions like Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, the official added.

"We are expecting at least 2 degrees drop in the maximum temperature from Saturday," the official said. However, heat wave conditions are likely to prevail till at least Saturday in regions like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Vidarbha, including south Haryana and Chhattisgarh, according to the department’s forecast on Wednesday.

Maximum temperatures are very likely to rise by 1-2°C over plains of northwest, central and east India during the next 24 hours, the forecast added.

Maximum temperatures on Tuesday were 5 degrees above normal in most parts in Rajasthan, some parts in east Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and a few places in Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Chandigarh.