1 day Ago By Neha Madaan
1 2 3 Pune: Model Colony resident Abhijit Solanki has already felt the health impacts of the season's extreme heat and IMD's forecasts on Saturday are certainly not music to his ears — a likely surge in day temperatures in the city with values climbing to 39-42°C by April 14 amid clear sky conditions. "The slight cooling we have had recently has been a welcome break. But I'm genuinely concerned about what is coming next.
I had severe dehydration last week, and my doctor emphasised that these are not just uncomfortable conditions but are potentially dangerous," said Solanki, a 42-year-old software engineer. "The doctor has prescribed strict hydration protocols, restricted outdoor activities during peak hours, and put in place dietary modifications that I never needed to consider before. If temperatures climb again, many of us, especially the elderly and children, could face serious health risks," he said.
The IMD forecasts also indicated return of heatwave conditions across several parts of the country in the coming days after a brief spell of thunderstorm activity in some regions. Maharashtra can expect temporary relief with temperatures falling by 2-3 degrees over the next two days. However, the temperatures will climb by 2-4 degrees thereafter.
Gujarat will experience temperatures rising by 2-4°C over the following 6 days. Northwest India is expected to experience a gradual temperature rise of 4-6 degrees over the next six days, while central India will maintain current temperature levels for 24 hours before experiencing a gradual 2-3 degrees rise over the following five days. Heatwave warnings have been issued for multiple regions.
West Rajasthan is likely to face heatwave conditions on April 14 and 15, with severe heatwave conditions expected in isolated pockets during April 16-18. Heatwave conditions are very likely at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on April 13; Gujarat during April 15-17; Punjab, Haryana, east Rajasthan and west Madhya Pradesh during April 16-18, with severe heatwave conditions at isolated pockets over east Rajasthan on April 18. IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said: "We are currently not having heatwave condition in any part of India because of the recent thundershower activity in various pockets.
However, we do expect an upcoming heatwave spell for three-four days, mainly Gujarat and west Rajasthan." Other experts said the country has been experiencing severe heat unusually early this season, with April witnessing temperatures typical of late-April or May. Weather analysts from Skymet Weather said while April typically marked only the beginning of milder heatwave conditions in India, this year witnessed severe intensity much earlier than normal.
"The temperature had recently reached almost about 45.6°C in places like Jaisalmer and Barmer, a range of temperature usually not seen so early in the pre-monsoon season. April is generally the beginning of the heatwave season, and it usually catches up only by the end of April or start of May with some spells of heatwave conditions.
This season, it started in the early part of April," said GP Sharma, president of Skymet Weather Services. Parts of Maharashtra, as well as Rajasthan (Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer and Phalodi), along with Gujarat regions such as Rajkot and Ahmedabad, recently witnessed the kind of heatwave conditions typically expected much later in the season, he added. Weather experts attributed the early heatwave primarily to the reduced frequency of western disturbances.
These weather systems, which typically remain active in the northern regions during this time, help suppress heat over the plains. "When western disturbances are not active, hot air from Pakistan's Sindh region, where temperatures have reached 46-47°C, gets transferred to our regions with favourable wind patterns," Sharma told TOI. Raghu Murtugudde, retired professor at IIT Bombay and Emeritus Professor at University of Maryland, said the heatwave season began earlier than usual this year.
He said: "We were already witnessing heatwaves in Feb in parts of Konkan and coastal Karnataka. We are now experiencing heatwaves in Delhi and Central India. Hyderabad has also recorded unusually high temperatures.
" Murtugudde explained that Mumbai saw one or two heatwaves earlier in the season, but the situation has since eased. "Currently, the circulation is bringing in air mostly from the north and northwest which has been experiencing thunder showers, so we are not getting very warm air in Mumbai," he said. "These early heatwaves were expected, especially as the Middle East has warmed very rapidly.
This shift in regional temperatures has altered wind patterns, bringing more and earlier heatwaves into Pakistan and surrounding regions," Murtugudde said..
