The prognostication by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday portended that a sweltering heatwave, escalating to severe levels, is anticipated to endure over Northern India, encompassing Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Punjab, spanning from June 15 to 19.
Over the preceding quartet of weeks, sections of North, North-West, and regions nestled in the central and southern realms have been ensnared in an oppressive heatwave, with myriad states/UT’s bearing witness to unprecedented temperatures. Even the mountainous states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have documented apex temperatures.
Una, nestled in Himachal Pradesh, notched the zenith temperature at 43.6 degrees Celsius, whereas Shimla, once again, transcended the 30-degree Celsius threshold, tallying a pinnacle of 31 degrees Celsius, which stands five notches beyond the season’s average on Saturday.
Heatwave Prognostication in Other Jurisdictions
For the National Capital and Uttar Pradesh, the meteorological authority has dispatched orange and red alerts for the ensuing quintet of days, as the zenith temperatures persist in the bracket of 44-46 degrees Celsius. On Saturday, the zenith temperature in Delhi is presumed to meander around 43 degrees Celsius, while the nadir is liable to stabilize at 31 degrees Celsius.
Isolated instances of heatwave conditions are also envisaged in fragments of West Bengal and Bihar on June 15, and in Uttarakhand on June 16, while Jharkhand and Uttarakhand are poised to confront akin circumstances on Saturday.
The scorching heatwave is expected to endure over pockets of the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu during June 15-17, Northeast Madhya Pradesh on June 15-16, and North Chhattisgarh on June 15.
“Balmy nocturnal conditions are highly probable in scattered enclaves of northeast Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi on June 15, and Uttar Pradesh on June 15-16,” articulated the IMD in its communique.
Pinnacle Heatwave Instances in this Summer and Ongoing Tally
According to the IMD, the nation has encountered the maximum number of days characterized by heatwaves in the past decade. As per the data amalgamated by the meteorological entity, the highest number of heatwave days have been chronicled over Odisha (27), trailed by Rajasthan (23), Gangetic West Bengal (21), Haryana (20), Chandigarh (20), Delhi (20), and West Uttar Pradesh (20).
Similarly, states where the onset of heatwaves is improbable have manifested a disconcerting trend this time around, as Jammu Kashmir has borne witness to 6 days of heatwave, Himachal Pradesh (12), while Uttarakhand (2).
Earlier in this month, as per a report from the Climameter 1.5°C detailing the record-breaking heatwaves in the month of May in India, it asserted that this “escalation in temperature primarily stems from human-induced climate change.” Designating it as an exceedingly singular event, the report accentuated that “Human-induced climate change and natural climate variability have both contributed to amplifying the heat during the India May 2024 heatwave.”