North India on red alert; temperature to soar over 45°
What's the story
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a severe heatwave warning for several states in North India, including Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh for Wednesday. This alert follows a blistering Tuesday when temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius in these regions. The IMD predicts that these conditions will persist until May 25 in the aforementioned states, as well as, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and parts of Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra is also expected to experience similar weather until May 24.
Rainfall alert
Heavy rainfall predicted for eastern and northeastern states
The IMD has also issued heavy rainfall warnings for several parts of West Bengal and Odisha. "Light to moderate rainfall at many places with heavy rainfall at isolated places is likely over North & South 24 Parganas, East Medinipur districts of West Bengal and Balasore district of Odisha on May 25," the weather report stated. Additionally, Mizoram, Tripura, and Manipur are expected to experience heavy rainfall on May 25.
Southern weather
Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms forecast for southern states
"Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal during May 21-23; Kerala & Mahe on May 21 & 24 and South Interior Karnataka on May 21, 2024 with isolated extremely heavy rainfall over Kerala on May 22 & 23," the weather report further states. The IMD also forecast thunderstorms accompanied by light to moderate rainfall, lightning and gusty winds for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana until May 26.
Rain forecast
Wet spell predicted for central and western India
A wet spell has been predicted for Goa, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh on May 22, and for Chhattisgarh until May 25. This forecast was released by the IMD in their latest weather bulletin. In addition to this, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds is likely in West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura until May 26.