India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heatwaves in several parts of Maharashtra to Odisha and Bengal over the next few days. As per IMD definition, a heatwave is when the temperature of any place crosses 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in coastal areas, and 30 degrees in the hills.
It also announces a heatwave when a place registers a maximum temperature that is 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius more than the normal temperature for the area for that day, and it is a severe heatwave if this temperature is over 6.4 degrees. “Rise by about 2 degrees Celsius in maximum temperatures likely over most parts of Northwest India during the next three days and fall by about 2 degrees Celsius thereafter,” it said.
By the end of April, some of the hottest cities in India were (maximum temperature in degrees Celsius) — Barmer (45.1), Brahmapuri (44.7), Rajgarh (44.6), Akola (44.5), Jaisalmer and Wardha (44.4), Bikaner (44.1), Kandla (43.8), Jamshedpur (43.6) and Varanasi (43.4).
