Maharashtra set to have most areas in grip of heatwave in India

PUNE: Maharashtra would have the maximum areas in the country reeling from heatwave during the next few days, India Meteorological Department (IMD) told TOI on Tuesday.

Parts of Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha are in the grip of heatwave from Monday. Marathwada began to experience it from Tuesday.
Around 26-50% stations in Vidarbha and Madhya Maharashtra as well as isolated parts of Marathwada are likely to experience heatwave on Wednesday.This indicates Maharashtra may have more area under its influence during the next two days in comparison to other states.
On May 23, around 26-50% stations in Madhya Maharashtra alone may record heatwave, while 1-25% stations in Vidarbha and Marathwada are likely to experience it that day.
On May 22 and 23, other regions in India — such as isolated parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat region, Telangana, Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry — may also record heatwave but the overall spread of the phenomenon there will be over a smaller area than Maharashtra, said Anupam Kashyapi, head of weather, IMD, Pune.
“Some parts of Madhya Maharashtra may continue to record heatwave conditions till May 23, though the intensity will reduce in Vidarbha in terms of the spread of impact. On May 24, the heatwave situation may abate from most regions except isolated parts of Vidarbha, Telangana and north interior Karnataka. Isolated places in Vidarbha and Telangana may record heatwave on May 25, but Madhya Maharashtra may not,” said Kashyapi.
He said one of the biggest factors that made the heat almost unbearable this summer was the absolute lack of rainfall in the three subdivisions of Madhya Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada. “Hot regions like Telangana, Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu have been getting some rain on and off. Some areas of Rajasthan, too, are getting some rain because of frequent western disturbances. The Gujarat region has received it once or twice and Odisha has recorded isolated rain frequently. Except Konkan and Goa region in Maharashtra, other sub-divisions here have received negligible rain,” he said.
Kashyapi said the ongoing heatwave situation might not be as bad as the one recorded in April, when Pune’s day temperature had shot up to 43°C both in Lohegaon and Shivajinagar.
On Tuesday, at least six locations in Madhya Maharashtra — Shivajinagar, Lohegaon, Malegaon, Sangli, Satara and Solapur — recorded heatwave. The highest positive departure in the day temperature was in Lohegaon and Satara.
The day’s maximum temperature in Lohegaon was 41.8°C — 5.8 degrees higher than normal. Satara was hotter at 41.9°C — 6.7 degrees above normal. The maximum temperature in Shivajinagar on Tuesday was 41.1°C — 4.9 degrees above normal. Parbhani in Marathwada, and Akola, Amraoti, Buldhana, Bramhapuri, Chandrapur, Nagpur and Wardha in Vidarbha also experienced heatwave conditions on Tuesday. Thus, three subdivisions — Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha — in the state recorded the heatwave conditions.
Kashyapi said areas adjacent to Pune, such as Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed, Maval, Mulshi, Bhor, Purandar and western parts of Pune city saw cloud development in the evening and could experience thunder activity on Tuesday evening. But this forecast was not extended to Wednesday.
Areas of Satara district, too, recorded partly cloudy conditions in the evening with traces of rain at isolated places.