Northwest, central India experience hottest April in 122 years

The Department added that temperatures would continue to be above normal also in May

Commuters cover themselves with pieces of cloth to shield themselves from the sun, on a hot summer day, near Golden Temple in Amritsar. Credit: PTI Photo

For the northwest and central India, April 2022 was the hottest April in the last 122 years, India Meteorological Department said on Saturday, alerting the residents of the two regions to be ready for a long and dry summer as the chances of a respite in May are slim.

“In May, above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of west-central and northwest India, and northern parts of northeast India,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general IMD said here.

The warning comes after a super-hot April when the average maximum temperature in the north-west and central were 35.9 degrees and 37.78 degrees Celsius respectively – the highest in the last 122 years.

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With an average maximum temperature of 35.05 degrees, the All India Temperature was the fourth highest in the same period. The other three worst years were 2010, 2016 and 1973.

In April, the northwest and central India witnessed six western disturbances – a storm originating at the Mediterranean – but all of them were feeble and dry, said Mohapatra. They moved over the ridges of the Himalayas.

The rainfall deficiency for northwest India was 84%, which is close to the March deficiency of 89%. The deficiency in central India was 53.5% in April (a drop from the March shortfall of 87%) whereas east and southern India received excess rain.

The northwest, eastern and central parts of the country have been reeling under intense heatwave conditions for the past few weeks. On Saturday, the Banda district in Uttar Pradesh sizzled at over 47 degrees Celsius.

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