Hottest April In 122 Yrs For Northwest, Central India: IMD

FILE PHOTO: People hold banners and signs as they take part in a march calling for urgent measures to combat climate change, in New Delhi (Reuters)

India’s northwest and central regions experienced their hottest April in 122 years, with average maximum temperatures reaching 35.9 and 37.78 degrees Celsius respectively, the weather office said on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, India Meteorological Department Director General said, “Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana — the states which fall in these regions — will continue to experience above normal temperatures in May as well. Nights would be warmer in May in most parts of the country, except some regions of south peninsular India.”

The average temperature observed pan-India for April was 35.05 degrees Celsius — the fourth highest in 122 years, he said. “The average rainfall in May 2022 over the country is most likely to be above normal. Parts of the northwest and northeast India as well as the extreme southeast Peninsula are expected to get below normal rainfall in May,” he said.

The high temperatures in March and April were attributed to “continuously scanty rainfall activity”.

Northwest India recorded a deficit in rainfall of around 89% in March and 83% in April, mainly on account of feeble and dry western disturbances. North India witnessed six western disturbances but they were feeble and moved across the higher parts of the Himalayas, Mohapatra said, adding the last three western disturbances caused strong winds in parts of Delhi and dust storms over Rajasthan in April.

India, particularly the northwestern and western parts of the country, has been reeling under intense heatwave conditions for the past few weeks.