Several parts of India reeled under severe heat wave conditions on Saturday, with the maximum temperature exceeding 47 degrees Celsius at Titlagarh in Odisha and above 45 degrees in several other parts of the country.
No respite is in sight till April 27, as India Meteorological Department issued severe heat wave or heat wave warnings for parts of Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana and Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh.
Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Bihar and the Gangetic West Bengal also recorded above normal temperatures.
Even minimum temperatures were above normal by 3.1 to 5 degrees Celsius at many places in east Madhya Pradesh and Rayalaseema, at a few places in Telangana, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and at isolated places in west Madhya Pradesh and the Gangetic West Bengal.
However, at a few places in Odisha, Telangana, Bihar and Jharkhand, the minimum temperature was above normal by only 1.6 to 3 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Hyderabad was the highest in a decade on two days in April.
IMD declares a heat wave when the maximum temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius in the plains. If the normal maximum temperature of a place is less than or equal to 40 degrees Celsius, an increase by 5-6 degrees Celsius is needed for heat wave to be declared. If the temperature goes up 7 degrees Celsius above normal, it is considered a severe heat wave.
