India is likely to witness high temperature and heatwave in April-May, according to a news report quoting weather forecaster Skymet.
In an interview, G P Sharma, President, Skymet, told CNBC-TV18 that heatwave will particularly start with the central parts of India.
In fact, some southern regions are already seeing persistent temperatures of 41 degree Celsius and thereabouts.
Low water levels is plausibly the key reason for the early onset of summer. He noted rainfall that we usually see in the southern parts around this time is zero.
Sharma warned that currently there are varying degrees of weather patterns, which are not normally seen during this period (March-May).
“What we normally see in April and May is that El Nino escalates further and the heatwave becomes little more prominent and severe,” he added.
Earlier this month, IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the prevailing El Nino conditions – the periodic warming of waters in the central Pacific Ocean – will continue through summer, and neutral conditions are expected to develop thereafter.
In India, heatwave typically occur from March to June, and in some rare cases, extend till July.
Heatwave conditions are observed across northwest India, central, east, and north peninsular India, as well as parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
Rajasthan and the Vidarbha region experience temperatures exceeding 45°C.
India experienced extreme heatwave in 2016 and 2022, with temperatures soaring above 50°C in some regions. This was followed by harsh summer in 2023, which became the second warmest year on record.