A farmer cools off while working at a wheat farm in Punjab.
Credit: DH Photo
The summer is yet begin but several parts of the country are already reeling under heat wave, with Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, Saurashtra, Kutch and parts of Rajasthan reporting heat wave conditions in late March this year.
On Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that India will witness a harsh and arid summer, with prolonged and more intense heat waves over many parts of the country in April-June.
There is high probability that certain regions will experience 10-20 days of heatwaves between April and June, compared to the usual 4-8 days.
Gujarat, central Maharashtra, and north Karnataka are as the most susceptible areas to heatwaves, followed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, north Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
As India gears up for another hot summer, we take a look at hottest days of the season in last five years.
2023
In 2023, India experienced its second warmest years in 122 years as this was the year of El Nino which is associated with higher than normal temperatures.
According to IMD, February, July, August, September, November and December were months when either the maximum or minimum temperatures with respect to the seasons remained above normal.
On April 16 this, the maximum temperatures were in the range of 40-42°C over many parts of Northwest Indian plains.
2022
In 2022, Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj broke its all-time record to become India’s hottest city on April 27 as the city recorded a temperature of 45.9°C, NASA reported.
Just a day before, Rajasthan's Barmer witnessed the temperature of 45.1°C, according to the India Meteorological Department.
This year also saw Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi and lower ridges of Western Himalayan region experiencing early spells severe heat wave with first spell hitting between March 11 and 19 while the second wave of heatwave came between March 27 and 31.
2019
In 2019, Churu -- a deserted region in Rajasthan -- recorded the hottest day of the year, with the mercury touching 50.8°C on June 2.
This year, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were on alert for 'severe heat wave conditions', with both the states often recording warm days at the peak of summer.
2016
On May 19, 2016, Phalodi in Rajasthan recorded the highest temperature of 51°C in Rajasthan, which was also the third-highest temperature ever documented globally that year, World Weather Attribution reported.
As per WWA, this record topped India’s past all-time record high of 50.6°C in Alwar, Rajasthan in 1956.
2015
During the second half of the May, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana saw tempratures hoovering between 40°C and 45 °C, Britannica reported.
Several heat-related deaths were also reported in the states of Odisha (Orissa), Gujarat, and West Bengal.
(With PTI inputs)