Western disturbance may bring respite from heat in Northwest India

Delhi sees hottest day of the season at 44 degrees; mercury to continue to soar in central India and other parts of country.

April 16, 2016 07:04 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 10:57 pm IST - New Delhi

Northwest India is likely to get some respite from the torrid heat over the next two-three days due to a fresh western disturbance but mercury will continue to soar in central India and other parts of the country.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Laxman Singh Rathore said the fresh western disturbance is over North Pakistan and adjoining areas. “It will start affecting Jammu and Kashmir from April 16 evening. The effect will be there for two-three days,” he said.

What is a ‘western disturbance’?

A western disturbance is an extra-tropical storm that originates in the Mediterranean and brings sudden winter rain and snow to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent. It also affects the weather in other countries, like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. This is a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the Westerlies.

“Its induced cyclonic circulation is over South-Central Pakistan and adjoining West Rajasthan,” Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency said.

Rathore said though its effect will be felt in hill states, there could be “some relief” in terms of temperatures in the plains of northwest India that are reeling under heatwave-like conditions. Mercury is unlikely to soar any further in the next two-three days.

‘Heatwave’ like conditions to prevail in Central India

However, heatwave conditions will continue to prevail in central India and other parts of the country. Isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh will also face the scorching sun.

“There will be no significant changes in maximum temperature across the plains of northwest India. It is likely to rise by 1-2 degrees Celsius over central, west and adjoining India in the next two-three days.

“Heat wave conditions (will) very likely (prevail) at isolated places in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Marathwada and central parts of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana and Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh,” the IMD said.

Heatwave in Telangana to continue

Telangana is likely to continue to reel under the heat wave as mercury is expected to remain up to 45 degrees Celsius in most parts of the state in the next two days.

“Heat wave conditions (are) very likely to prevail (tomorrow and day after) over most parts in the districts of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimanagar, Khammam, Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medak, Mahabubnagar, Warangal and Nalgonda of Telangana,” an official release from India Meteorology Department (IMD) said.

Most places of Telangana are very likely to record maximum temperature between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, it said.

As per the release, the highest maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius was recorded at Nizamabad today.

Meanwhile, the streets of Hyderabad on Saturday wore a deserted look in the afternoon with people preferring to stay indoors to escape the sweltering-heat.

Heat wave has claimed 35 lives in Telangana so far, prompting the State government to issue alerts in all districts to take precautionary measures to minimise the impact of the prevailing weather conditions, senior official had recently said.

Delhiites sweat during hottest day of the season

The national capital recorded the season’s highest temperature with the mercury soaring up to 44 degrees Celsius, giving a tough time to the people.

“The maximum temperature was recorded at 44 degrees Celsius, six notches above the normal while the minimum settled at 28.4 degrees Celsius, seven notches above normal for this time of the year,” a MeT official said.

The humidity levels oscillated between 60 and 19 per cent.

The readings for the maximum and minimum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory were recorded at 42 and 25 degrees Celsius, both four notches above normal.

The weatherman has predicted a partly cloudy morning for tomorrow with possibility of dust storm during the evening.

However, there is no forecast for rainfall in the national capital.

Yesterday, the maximum and minimum temperatures settled at 42 degrees and 24 degrees Celsius respectively.

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