Despite the marginal drop of 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius in temperature in several towns, heat wave continued to ravage Rajasthan on Saturday.
The extreme temperature has claimed 13 lives so far, while three Border Security Force jawans posted on the Pakistan border in Barmer district were admitted to hospital with heatstroke. Though Phalodi in Jodhpur district, which recorded 51 degrees Celsius two days ago, registered a fall to 46 degrees, Churu and Sriganganagar sizzled at 49.2 degrees.
According to the Jaipur Meteorological Office, 47.3 degrees Celsius was recorded in Kota, 46.7 in Pilani and Bikaner, and 45.7 in Jaipur.
Mercury may dip Met Office Director A.K. Srivastava told The Hindu that some respite from the heat was expected in the next 48 hours as the trend of marginal decline in mercury levels was likely to continue. The air current direction is expected to change soon to western winds, which may be laden with moisture and may reduce the temperature, while western disturbance may cause a drizzle in some parts of the State.
Water crisis worsens To reduce the impact of scorching heat, municipal authorities in Bikaner and Jodhpur sprinkled water through fire tenders at public places. The State government has issued an alert in view of the severe heat wave, even as the water crisis worsened in many districts. The soaring temperature has also taken its toll on wildlife.
The zoo authorities have installed coolers in enclosures.
In a statement on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department said: “Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions are likely in West Madhya Pradesh and Vidharbha. They are very likely at isolated places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, East Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat region and East Madhya Pradesh.”
Besides Rajasthan, it has issued a “red” warning in Vidharbha, and the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat.
The MeT Department has predicted that the onset of monsoon will get delayed by six days.
Southwest monsoon hit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands two days before its normal date but a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal is likely to “weaken” its progress which will result in the delay of its onset in Kerala, it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
