Heat wave persists over Peninsular and East India, parts of South India

Even as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of North-East India are expecting heavy rainfall from a strengthening monsoon, heat wave conditions are entrenching themselves over the mainland.

An array of western disturbances passing over North-West India has, however, confined the core heating to Peninsular India and adjoining East India as well parts of the South Peninsula.

Heat wave

Heat wave conditions would be predominant over Vidarbha, Madhya Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Marathawada, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Wednesday.

An India Met Department (IMD) outlook said in the morning update similar conditions would prevail over these regions as well as over North Interior Karnataka on Thursday.

Heating of the landmass is a crucial monsoon enabler in so far as it helps set up the suitable temperature and pressure gradients, allowing the south-westerly winds to fan in the moisture from the seas.

But, as mentioned already, the cooler western disturbances and the thunderstorms they set up have not allowed the heating to spread to the plains over North-West India.

A fresh western disturbance is on its way in, and has been spotted to over Iran. Even before it covers the rest of the track over Afghanistan and Pakistan, it would be able to influence weather over North-West India.

North-west spared

This is mainly because a cyclonic circulation left behind by a predecessor western disturbance over South-West Rajasthan would act as a 'step-up' system to amplify the weather over this part of the international border.

Fairly widespread to widespread precipitation has been forecast for the hills of North-West India while it would be isolated to scattered rain/thundershowers over the plains today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday).

Thunderstorms accompanied with gusty winds are likely over the hills while dust storms/thunderstorm along with with gusty wind may lash adjoining plains during the same period.

Elsewhere, thunderstorms and lightning accompanied with (i) squall (wind speeds of 60 km/hr) are likely over the hills of Bengal and Sikkim; (ii) gusty winds (40 km/hr) over Chhattisgarh, plains of Bengal, Rayalaseema, South Interior Karnataka and Kerala and (iii) dust storms and gusty winds (40 kmph) over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Strong winds with speeds reaching 50 km/hr are likely along and off the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal and Odisha coasts. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the seas.

Thunderstorms forecast

As for Thursday, thunderstorm and lightning accompanied with (i) squall (wind speeds of 60 km/hr) are likely over the hills of Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura (ii) gusty winds (50 km/hr) over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana; (iii) gusty winds (40 km/hr) over Chhattisgarh, plains of Bengal, South Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and (iv) dust storm and gusty winds (40 km/hr) over Uttrakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Heavy to very heavy rain is likely over Assam and Meghalaya while it would be heavy over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Heat wave conditions are likely over Madhya Maharashtra and in isolated pockets over Vidarbha, Marathawada, Telangana, Rayalaseema, North Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Strong winds with speeds reaching 50 km/hr are likely along and off the Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu coasts. Fishermen are advised not to venture into sea over these areas.

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