Temperatures rose across northwest and central India on Wednesday with extreme heat wave alerts being issued by the India Meteorological Department.
Temperatures rose across northwest and central India on Wednesday with extreme heat wave alerts being issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for west Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh, as India continues to reel under the impact of extreme weather events.
Heat wave conditions were also experienced in Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, East Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
Palam experienced the first heat wave of the season on Wednesday as the mercury level touched 45.2 degrees Celsius. The rest of Delhi reeled under near-heat wave conditions, missing the benchmark by just one degree.
The Met department has issued a warning of heat wave in Delhi over the next four days as well and temperatures could soar to 45 degrees Celsius by Sunday, the regional weather forecasting centre has warned.
'Hot winds from the west, a clear sky and scarcity of moisture in the air are helping the mercury shoot up. It could touch 45 degrees by the weekend,' said a scientist with the regional weather forecasting centre in New Delhi.
The heat wave conditions are likely to persist in northwest and central India till Sunday, according to a Met department forecast.
Typically, the Met department declares a heat wave when the day temperature shoots up by at least 5 degrees above the climatic normal.
According to it,the temperature then tends to breach 40 degrees Centigrade in the plains and 30 degrees C in the hills.
However, if temperatures breach the 45 degrees C mark in the plains it also qualifies as a heat wave.
Research shows that the average length of heatwaves in India increased by 0.8 days between 2000-16 when compared to 1986- 2008. In 2015, the largest number of fatalities from extreme weather were heat-related (2081).
Heat-related deaths do not necessarily reflect average temperatures but rather exposure to extreme heat. The greatest at risk from heat-related effects like dehydration, heat and sun strokes are workers, homeless people and the elderly. Exposure to the heat is linked to a rise in cardiovascular and respiratory problems.
Heat waves in India occur between mid-March and June and sometimes in July. In India the core heat wave zone spreads over Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana and parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. A draft Met department report noted that 2017 was India's 4th hottest year, and the 4th consecutive record-breaking year in terms of temperature.
Heat wave conditions were also experienced in Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, East Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
Palam experienced the first heat wave of the season on Wednesday as the mercury level touched 45.2 degrees Celsius. The rest of Delhi reeled under near-heat wave conditions, missing the benchmark by just one degree.
The Met department has issued a warning of heat wave in Delhi over the next four days as well and temperatures could soar to 45 degrees Celsius by Sunday, the regional weather forecasting centre has warned.
'Hot winds from the west, a clear sky and scarcity of moisture in the air are helping the mercury shoot up. It could touch 45 degrees by the weekend,' said a scientist with the regional weather forecasting centre in New Delhi.
The heat wave conditions are likely to persist in northwest and central India till Sunday, according to a Met department forecast.
Typically, the Met department declares a heat wave when the day temperature shoots up by at least 5 degrees above the climatic normal.
According to it,the temperature then tends to breach 40 degrees Centigrade in the plains and 30 degrees C in the hills.
However, if temperatures breach the 45 degrees C mark in the plains it also qualifies as a heat wave.
Research shows that the average length of heatwaves in India increased by 0.8 days between 2000-16 when compared to 1986- 2008. In 2015, the largest number of fatalities from extreme weather were heat-related (2081).
Heat-related deaths do not necessarily reflect average temperatures but rather exposure to extreme heat. The greatest at risk from heat-related effects like dehydration, heat and sun strokes are workers, homeless people and the elderly. Exposure to the heat is linked to a rise in cardiovascular and respiratory problems.
Heat waves in India occur between mid-March and June and sometimes in July. In India the core heat wave zone spreads over Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana and parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. A draft Met department report noted that 2017 was India's 4th hottest year, and the 4th consecutive record-breaking year in terms of temperature.